


Descendants 5: Wicked Horizon

by EveryWhichWayzz



Series: 'Till the Night Falls [2]
Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: F/M, The story continues...
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-04-18 11:08:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 40,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21805702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EveryWhichWayzz/pseuds/EveryWhichWayzz
Summary: "A war is coming. I can feel it. And, soon, everyone will have to choose a side. Even you.""But what if I can't? I'm not like them. I'm not an AK or a VK...I don't know what I am anymore.""The lines have long been blurred. There are no longer villain's kids and hero's kids. There are only those who wish to do good...and those who wish to do evil. Which one are you?"Morgana has been defeated. The NeoMerlin has been found. But yet, questions still remain. Questions that one dwarf desperately seeks the answers to. He decides to leave Auradon and journey out to find the answers to those questions and Evie goes with him. Meanwhile, darkness is gathering once more, fixated on revenge. A Pandora's Box of secrets is about to be unleashed upon Auradon. And this time, it might take more than a small group of ragtag heroes have to stop it. And, as Evie would say, "Change the way this story's told."
Relationships: Chad/Audrey, Evie/Doug, Jay/Lonnie - Relationship, Mal/Ben, carlos/jane, harry/Uma
Series: 'Till the Night Falls [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1567414
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	1. This is Our Time

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! If you're just tuning in, welcome! Here's just a quick note; this is the second book in a series and, while you are more than welcome to just read this one, it may be helpful to read Wicked Dawn before this as it sets up the stage for the events that will take place. Again, totally up to you :)  
And now, let's start this book off right. With another song. Hope you enjoy!

The lawn of Auradon Prep was still. The faint traces of ghostly steps could still be heard in the swaying trees and grass, in the pavilion, and throughout the halls. But fall break had come. And, for some students, a return to where it all began was in order.

A drumbeat began in the distance as Mal, a tall purplette, hurried across the field. Her fiance, Ben, raced after her. He caught up to her and spin her around to face him, laughing. Together, they stared up at the castle where they first met and their lives had changed forever.

** Mal: **

**Oh, it seems our future's come at last.**

**We've come so far now, put aside the past.**

**We changed our ways, rose from the hate,**

**And now we're here, here to stay, oh...**

** Ben ** **: **

**Our kingdoms have collided.**

**The darkness has fallen to the light.**

**Turn the evil into what is right**

**This is our time tonight.**

** Mal and Ben: **

**When our two worlds collide,**

**Turning the darkness into light.**

**This is our time to rise.**

**Together we can win this fight!**

Evie, a beautiful bluenette, daughter of the Evil Queen, hurried across the wall of the castle to join up with the King and future queen. Her boyfriend, Doug, Dopey's son, ran after her. Ben laughed as he and Mal waved to them. Evie and Doug waved back as they kept running toward the stairs. 

** Mal and Evie: **

**Mirror, mirror, on the wall,**

**Are you ready for a brawl?**

**Apple, apple, dip, dip, **

**The future's here for us to take.**

Whoops echoed from the woods behind them and all eyes turn as Jay, long-haired boy, came charging out of the trees, his girlfriend, Lonnie, in tow. Moments later, Carlos, a white-haired boy, flipped down from a nearby tree to meet up with Jane, a girl with short black hair, with a chuckle. They ran to join the others just as Evie and Doug hurried across the meadow from the opposite direction. 

** Jay, Lonnie, Jane, and Carlos: **

'**Cause when it comes tonight,**

**And it's our time to shine.**

**We will rise...**

**Together we can win this fight!**

The group separated into a complicated dance routine. Each boy took his significant partner and swung them around. Everyone laughed. Doug and Evie moved toward the center while the others spread out and circled them. 

** Doug and Evie: **

**'Cause there's nothing we can't do.**

**Take the old, make something new.**

**When we're together, this I know, it's true.**

**And it's up to me and you!**

Doug took the lead, skipping out of the ring, pulling Evie along with him. Mal and Ben took their place. Mal leaned in close to Ben, grinning as they began to sing.

** Mal and Ben: **

**When our two worlds collide,**

**We'll turn the darkness into light.**

**It's our time to shine.**

**Together we can win this fight!**

Everyone continued to dance in the ring. Carlos swung Jane around and passed her off to Jay while he moves to dance with Lonnie. Ben and Doug do the same. Ben smiled gently as he bowed to Evie in a princely manner and Doug nervously held out his hand to Mal who tried to give him what she thought was an encouraging smile.

** All: **

**And this world is ours,**

**The dark and the light,**

**All become one here tonight.**

**'Cause it's our time to shine!**

Thunder rumbled overhead and a light rain began to fall. The teens paid no attention and kept right on dancing.

** Carlos and Jane: **

**Oh, this world is ours.**

** Jay and Lonnie: **

**The dark and the light,**

**Become one here tonight. **

** All: **

**'Cause it's our time to _shine!_**

The guys and girls broke apart. Ben, Carlos, Doug, and Jay ganged up like a Tourney team. Meanwhile, Mal, Evie, Jane, and Lonnie threw their arms around one other as Mal began singing quietly.

** Mal: **

**And no one said it,**

**Was ever gonna be easy.**

** Evie: **

**But we can do this,**

**'cause we're in too deep**.

Meanwhile, with the guys...

**Jay:**

**And then they'll all see...**

** Carlos:  **

**We're who we're supposed to be...**

The two groups broke apart and came back together. The rain started to pour, drenching everyone in a matter of moments.

**Ben, Mal, Evie, and Doug:**

**When our two worlds collide,**

**We'll turn the darkness into light.**

**Yeah, it's our time to shine.**

**Together we can win this fight.**

** All: **

**Together we can win this fight.**

** Ben and Mal: **

**This is our time...**

** Jane and Carlos: **

**Together we can win this fight...**

** Jay and Lonnie: **

**This is our time...**

** Evie and Doug: **

**And together we _will _win this fight.**

The song ended and everyone erupted into cheers. Mal caught herself as Jay and Carlos chest-bumped and Carlos nearly tumbled backward over her. She smiled slightly as Ben appeared at her side, whooping, shaking his soggy mop of blond hair like a dog...or a beast. She saw Carlos hug Jane, Jay fist bump Lonnie, and as Ben put an arm around her, she noticed Evie take Doug's hand. The two smiled, both timid, but both perfect for one another. 

"Mal?" 

Ben's voice.She turned sharply, finding him staring intently at her with a concerned expression. "Are you all right?" he questioned, taking her hands in his, waiting worriedly for an answer. She smiled at him, reassuring him that everything was just fine.

"Yes," she told him automatically. "Yes, I'm fine."

But still, even as she said it, she felt a twinge of something inside of her. Her magic. It was churning. But it wasn't Maleficent. She was safely back inside her terrarium. This was something different, something much more powerful, much more dangerous...

And it was coming to destroy them all.


	2. Birthright

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone gets the reference to the first line, I'd love to know. It's kind of a joke :)

_Descendants_\-- _a_ _shadowy_ _flight_ _into_ _the_ _dangerous_ _world_ _of_ _a_ _dwarf_ _who_ _does_ _not_ _exist_.

The halls were crowded with the bustling, anxious, and, in some cases, overly excited students of Auradon Prep. It was only a few days after fall break and everyone was still trying to get back in the swing of things. Of course, that meant being late for classes, finding absurd pranks from the VKs in lockers, and just, overall, being really _really_ wicked.

Evie effortlessly maneuvered her way through this crowd, her eyes glued to her phone and the text message she had just received. It wasn't good news. And Evie could hardly wait to meet up with Mal and talk about it. She knew where her best friend would be. At the ampitheitar, watching Ben and Jay spar. Just like she always was on a slow Friday afternoon.

Texting Mal back, saying she was on her way, Evie rounded a corner and nearly bumped into Carlos in her haste. She looked up, saw him, and back-peddled, as he did the same, just barely managing to avoid a collision.

"_Evie_!" he exclaimed in a startled squeak, his eyes wide.

"_Carlos_! Goblins, I am _so_ sorry!" Evie gasped, clutching her heart pendant, feeling her pulse explode. "I was so busy with a text from Mal that I wasn't watching where I was going. I didn't see you there!"

Carlos gave her a small friendly smile. "It's all right," he assured her. He nervously fiddled with something and that was when Evie noticed the small blue package in his hands.

"What's that?" she questioned, pointing to it.

"What?" Carlos held it up. "Oh...oh _this_? Oh...its nothing. Just a trinket...you know...nothing important..."

"It's for Jane, isn't it?" Evie asked knowingly.

"Noooo...maybe...yes?" Carlos sighed and ran a hand through his multicolored hair. "It's just...it's been a long few weeks, you know? And after our last date got ruined, I kinda felt like I needed to make it up to her somehow."

"So what is it?" Evie questioned.

"Um...just some...hairpieces that I...made...with my 3D printer." Carlos chuckled nervously.

"Ooh, really? Can I see?" Evie leaned over hopefully.

Carlos slowly opened the box and tilted it so she could peek inside. The berettes were beautiful. They sparkled with miniature silver crystals. Fake ones, no doubt, but still, _ver_y realistic. "_Whoa_," Evie breathed, staring at them. "Those look incredible. Jane will absolutely _love_ them!"

Carlos cracked a smile. "You think?"

Evie smiled. "I _do_," she told him. "_Now_, I would _love_ to stay and chat, but Mal's waiting for me and I have to go. So, I will wish you luck, and you'll tell me all about it later?" She waited hopefully for his response. He nodded, promising. Evie then flashed him a small smile before turning and hurrying off down the hall. She called a hello to an anxious Jane and smiled as she heard Carlos' hopeful call from a distance. _They are so perfect for each other_.

Not that she dabbled in matchmaking at all. Nope. _Totally_ not her thing.

She rounded another bend and hastily pulled open the huge doors that led to the amphitheater. Even before she entered, she could hear the grunts and steel clashing coming from the fencers. She spotted Mal sitting near the top of the bleachers and she hurried over to join her, trying not to distract the athletes' practice.

"Hey," she greeted, plopping down in a seat next to Mal and taking her mirror and eyeshadow from her purse, touching up a few spots around mouth and nose. She may not have been the "fairest one of all" here in Auradon, but that didn't mean she didn't make an effort to look at least _presentable_.

Mal glanced up, squinting at the overly excited girl next to her. "Hey," she responded before returning to stare at her phone.

Evie frowned. Her eyes fell on a small manila folder next to her and her interested was immediately peaked. "What's this?" she questioned, pulling it out from between the bleachers and beginning to open it.

"Uh...Evie?" Mal, noticing what she was doing, hastily snatched the folder away from her. "Before you read that, I think there are a few things we should discuss."

Evie released the folder and frowned as she sat back, watching as Mal put the binder aside. "What are you talking about? What did you find out?"

"_Evie_," Mal said seriously, ignoring her last question. "Do you remember when Doug got us all together and told us he was going to leave?"

How could she forget? It had to have been one of the hardest things for the dwarf to ever do, to stand before all of his friends and announce that he was going to be leaving Auradon Prep for a short time while he went in search of his mother. The silence that had filled the room had been deafening. And, Evie was sure, had she not confronted him earlier, he may not have even found the courage to tell them. But, at that point, only she and Ben had known of Doug's intent, and it had been a nasty shock to the others who were, quite understandably, confused and very concerned. But, in the end, Doug, along with Ben's help, managed to convince them that what the dwarf was going to do was for the best. And it would provide some closure...and perhaps bring back the side of her boyfriend that she so desperately missed.

Not that Doug wasn't his normal, completely dorky, and lovable self. It was just...Evie could see the bitterness and resentment hidden behind his smile whenever his father was around. He needed to talk to Dopey, to figure this whole mess out, but it was Doug, and he was much to upset to even consider it, fearing he might get too mad at his father and do a "Gordon", which would lead to him never getting the answer to his questions.

"Yeah? But, Mal, we've already talked about this. This is what Doug needs to do. He _needs_ to meet his mother. And if she was a villain, even more so. Because, don't you see? This isn't just a chance for him...it's a chance for all villain kids! And Doug knows that! If the kid of a villain and a hero can turn out good, that means there are hope for the others too, right?"

"You're forgetting that Doug has spent his whole life in Auradon," Mal reminded the bluenette. "Until a few weeks ago, he was a hero's kid."

"What's your point?"

"My _point_ is, Doug's always been raised to be a hero's kid. He doesn't know _how_ to be bad." Mal was frowning now.

"Yes, but, Mal, that's not a problem," Evie shot back. "What has got you so on edge anyway?"

Mal hesitated. Below them, in the ring, Jay gave a yell of victory as Ben's sword was knocked clean away. The two boys shook hands and readied up to go a second round. Suddenly, a new voice interrupted them and Evie and Mal glanced down at the mat in surprise. Evie couldn't believe her eyes. Standing near the entrance was Lonnie. Which, that in itself was not all that unusual. Since becoming captain of the fencing team, Lonnie often spent her free time training. But it was the long-haired blond who stood behind her nervously that caught Evie's eye.

_What is Doug doing down there_?

"Wait...Evie, do you see what I see?" Mal questioned.

Evie nodded, leaning forward, eyes wide. What was he thinking? And what was he doing with Lonnie? Jay and Ben both looked up in surprise and a huge grin spread across Jay's face. "Hey, guys!" he called, though his eyes were firmly fixed on Lonnie, Evie noticed.

"Hi," Lonnie responded. "I was just wondering if it would be all right for me to use the training floor for a while. Doug was hoping for some pointers."

Ben and Jay looked at each other and nodded. "Sure," Ben said, stepping back and handing off his sword to Lonnie.

Jay did the same for Doug, slapping him on the back. "Go get 'er," he told him before he and Ben left.

Doug laughed weakly. He was probably thinking more about how he was about to get_ entirely obliterated_. Lonnie was captain of the team for a reason. He was sort of trapped between a rock and a hard place.

Mal turned back to face Evie as the two in the field lifted their swords in the typical sign of respect and Lonnie began on the offensive. "But my point still stands. Anyone who looks at him is going to see the son of a dwarf, _not_ the possible son of a villain."

"I'm going with him."

"I know."

Evie stared at her. "How could you possibly--"

"E, you have been my best friend for a long time now. I saw the looks the two of you have been giving each other. It was not hard to piece the facts together. But, if you leave, who will watch Dizzy and the other kids?"

Evie made a face. "This sounds like a ploy to get me out of going," she observed. " Mal, Queenie is a _fine_ babysitter. She'll take good care of them while I'm gone. Please try not to worry about it too much."

"But I _am_ worried," Mal protested. "You don't know how long you'll be gone! What if something happens while you're away?"

"Mal, _what_ could happen? Besides, you're a _dragon_. I don't think Auradon has anything to worry about." She gave her friend a cheeky grin.

Mal laughed. "You're probably right."

"You know I am," Evie retorted. "But what's with all the mystery? What did you call me down here for? _Certainly_ not to talk about my babysitter for the kids."

Mal hesitated. "When we got back, I kept my word. I ask Beast and Belle about Doug."

"_And_?" Evie leaned forward hopefully.

"_And_ they gave me his file," Mal answered, handing over the manila folder.

Evie frowned. It was so..._small_. "_This_ is all you could find?"

Mal shrugged. "I kept searching, hoping I'd find something else. Ben's file is at leas_t three time_s the size of that. Then again, he _is_ a prince."

Evie ignored that last part. She slowly opened the folder, disappointed to find a miniscule amount of information. A piece of scrap paper that told where he'd been born, his full name (which she already knew, to his great embarrassment), but something didn't seem right. And it took her a moment to realize why.

"Mal? Where's his birth certificate?"

" See? That's just the thing! I looked _everywhere_! Because, as you know, a birth certificate tells the names of the parents. Evie, _he_ _doesn't_ _have_ _one_."

"Wait..." Evie blinked. _"What?" _She glanced down toward the field where the two were continuing to battle it out. "But, Mal, _how_ is that possible? If he doesn't...how did he even get into this school?"

"I asked Belle the same thing," Mal explained. "And she told me that Ben and Doug had been best friends for a long time. He spoke in the boy's defense when the question was brought up. And since he was to be king--"

"They took his word for it and let the matter drop," Evie said knowingly.

Mal sighed and nodded. "Listen, I'm sorry that I couldn't do more. Ben's parents don't know anything more than we do. But, I can tell you this, as far as anyone outside of this school is concerned, Doug doesn't even exist."


	3. Heir Unapparent

Doug was really sweet, but his fencing skills were practically nonexistent. Wait, no, she took that back. The_y were_ nonexistent.

Lonnie watched his face fall and shoulders slump as his sword clattered to the floor once more and she instantly felt bad for going so hard on him. But when one comes t_o he_r and asks for tips, she always goes full out, if only to get a sense of what they could do. Which, in this case, was almost _nothing_.

"Let's take a break," she suggested, sheathing her blade and moving to pick up Doug's as well. _Some_ _people_ _are_ _designed_ _for_ _fighting_. _And_ _some_...aren't. She pushed her negative thoughts to the back of her mind. Doug was giving it his best effort, she knew. He just...wasn't warrior material. _At all._

"Are...are you sure?" Doug stammered, trying to shake the disappointment from his gaze. "We...we could keep going..." He trailed off desperately.

But Lonnie shook her head. "No, time to stop. Slow and steady wins the race and all that. Come on," she smiled as she returned his sword to the extras canister near the door. She put an arm around him and led him towards the bleachers. "Besides, I think there are a couple of princesses here to see you." She pointed and was relieved to see his face immediately light up at the sight of them.

"Evie! Mal!" He waved.

The girls waved back, though both seemed a bit shaken up. Lonnie couldn't even begin to imagine why. She watched as Doug hurried up the steps to slide in next to Evie and put a loving arm around her. The bluenette tensed slightly but still managed to glance over at him and give at least a half-convincing smile. Lonnie frowned, catching Mal's gaze. Something told her that something was very wrong. But she didn't know what. And she didn't know if it was any of her business.

"I'm gonna head out now, Doug!" she called up to the dwarf. "Just come and find me later if you want to train some more." He nodded and she turned, heading toward the door, waving to Jay and Ben who were standing in the corner, watching her. They returned it before moving back into the field to practice once more.

Lonnie opened the door with a sigh. She still felt bad for Doug. She wished she could do more to help, but, she didn't know anymore about his past than anyone else. Even less, probably. She pulled her jacked further around her shoulders as a cold gust of cold air, better known as Doug's cousin, Kayleigh, came whooshing down the hallway.

"Out of the way! Excuse me! Excuse me! Pardon me! Excuse me! Big guitar! Big guitar! Sorry! Oof! _Ouch_! Sorry! _Sorry_!"

Lonnie blinked in surprise at her fellow senior as the girl skidded to a halt in front of her, readjusting her ruby-red wire-rimmed glasses breathlessly. On her head she wore a neon orange beanie over her short chocolate brown hair. Her greenish-blue eyes sparkled excitedly as she fiddled with the strap that connected to the bulky guitar over her shoulder with one hand and her earbuds (which were blasting music) with the other. _Doug's guitar_, Lonnie reasoned. Kayleigh's main instrument was the piano. Though she was taking lessons, she couldn't yet fluently play the stringed instrument yet. "Whoa! Kayleigh!" Lonnie grabbed her before she could run face first into the closing doors. Lonnie looked down at the girl. It was hard to see them as being the same age. Lonnie was all tough and mature, while Kayleigh was more dorky (like her cousin), more energetic, _much_ more musical, and spent all her free time writing books about the weird things that popped into her brain. "What's the big hurry? You late for something?"

Kayleigh chuckled nervously. "For a _ver_y important date," she joked. Then, when Lonnie smiled, she went on. "Nah. Nothing like that. I'm just here to drop off Doug's guitar before I head off to explore."

Lonnie laughed again. _Everyone_ who knew Kayleigh knew that her style of _exploration_ usually meant curling up in the corner of the library and writing a book about sword-fights, adventure, dragons...anything odd or unusual. She had been the one Doug had confided in when he realized that he loved Evie. She was a great secret-keeper, and an even more loyal and caring friend. "Where to this time?" she questioned.

"Hmmm," Kayleigh pretended to ponder this. "Maybe some far off kingdom called the U.S.A. that isn't Auradon. Maybe, there humans are just...normal...and they have to live their lives without magic."

"_No_ _magic_?" Lonnie gasped, putting a dramatic hand over her heart. "What _is_ this place of horrors?"

"I call it America," Kayleigh answered. "And it's..._different_."

"If there's no magic, than I'll say it is," Lonnie chuckled. She looked the girl up and down once more. "Well, Doug is in there," she said, jabbing a thumb over her shoulder. "I have to get going, but I'll see you around, 'kay?"

Kayleigh nodded, waving farewell as Lonnie started off down the hall once more and she opened the door before hurrying inside.

What she found was her cousin lying on the floor in a crumpled, sobbing mess.

***  
"Doug?" He could hear Evie's calm voice above him. "Doug, listen to me. It's not as bad as you think..."

"How is it _not_ bad?" Doug wailed, burying his face in his hands. "I don't have a birth certificate! I don't even _exist_! Why? Why why _why_?" He slammed a fist down against the squishy training mat as the tears flowed harder and faster. "I'm just a mistake. An _illegitimate_ mistake no doubt. No wonder my father didn't want to talk about my mother. My mother _wasn't_ my mother at all!"

"Now, calm down, Doug," Mal ordered. "We don't know that...or anything else....for sure. But this is something you _should_ discuss with your father."

Doug shook his head tearfully. "No! _No_! I _can't_! You don't get it! I'm a fake! A fraud! I don't deserve to be here, at this school, with all of you! Ben...Ben got me in. And...college...all the colleges I applied t-to..."

He could feel Evie's burning glare above his head. "You told me you got accepted into, like, _five _of them last month!"

"I LIED OKAY?" Doug was losing it. "They wouldn't take me! B-because I didn't have proof of my lineage. My...my...grades...c-counted for _nothing_." He collapsed into another fit of sobs. He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and heard the hurrying of footsteps that could only belong to one person.

"All right! _Who _did this? Who do I have to clobber with this guitar?"

_Kayleigh_. Doug sniffed, looking up, finding his younger cousin at his side in an instant. She knelt down beside him and added her hand to his shoulder as well. "Hi," he whispered, feeling better instantly. Kayleigh was Happy's daughter. She was always chipper, excitable, and _never_ had a bad thing to say about _anyone_. If anyone could cheer him up, it'd be her.

"Hey," Kayleigh answered. "What's wrong?" She glanced up at Evie. "What's wrong with him?"

"Just a bit of bad news," Mal answered for the bluenette. "He'll be all right. Now, Doug, come on, get up, wipe those tears away." She grabbed his arms and hauled him to his feet. "You're never going to be able to do anything if you just lie around and pity yourself. Evie and I will help you anyway that we can. I'll talk to Ben and--"

"No, no, no," he waved her off. "Thank you, but, Ben's already done enough for me. I have to just face up to the fact that I'll never be able to compare to anyone else." He took off his glasses and, as Kayleigh handed him a tissue, he dried his eyes, giving them a weak smile. 

"No, Doug," Evie knelt down beside him. "You_ can't._ You're so much smarter and braver than all of those princes. And if those schools can't see past those silly rules, then maybe they aren't what you need. Try not to worry, okay?" 

"Thanks," Doug's voice broke. "But I think I'd rather have a college, if you don't mind." 

Mal nodded in understanding. "Well, in that case, I think you and Evie'd better start getting packed."

Evie looked over at her with a frown. "Why?"

"Because the two of you are leaving tonight."


	4. Setting Off

"Tent?"

"Check."

"Sleeping bag?"

"Check again."

"Erm...eye-shadow and blush?"

"_Mal!_ Ugh...check!" Evie walked across the room and tossed the armload of items onto her bed with a sigh. She then promptly collapsed onto it with a long groan, sending half of her things clattering to the floor.

"Evie?" Mal glanced up from her own bed where she had been reading Evie's loopy handwritten list and raised an eyebrow. "You all right?" She eyed the lipstick that rolled underneath the nightstand as though it was a snake about to leap out and bite her. When she got no response, she shrugged and read over the list again. "Um...why do you have a hairdryer on here? You know you won't be able to use that, right?"

Evie rolled her eyes and say up. "Remind me how I talked myself into this again? Mal, I _hat_e camping! And how am I supposed to wear any of my nice clothes if I'm going to be lying on the dirty ground the entire time?"

"Hey, _you're_ the one who told Doug you'd help him, remember?" Mal pointed out. "What were you expecting exactly? Four-star hotels and gourmet lunches?"

Evie made a face. "No, but I _was_ _thinking _something _other _than camping. I don't even know the first _thin_g about camping!" She started to go into another panic attack.

Mal sighed. "Maybe not, but Doug does. I'll bet he's already got everything worked out down to the finest detail."

Evie paused at this. "True. He _has_ been boasting about his s'more badge ever since we got back from rescuing you from the Isle...maybe it's time he put his money where his mouth is." A big grin spread across her face as she hopped back off of her bed and hurried across the room to begin sifting through her closet.

Mal shook her head, chuckling. She opened her mouth to say more but was interrupted by a loud exclamation as the door swung open and smashed into the wall. Evie yelped and leaped back while Mal just rolled her eyes as Ben, Jay, Carlos, Lonnie, and Jane piled in. "Don't you guys know how to knock?" she snapped, throwing her hands in the air in exasperation. "Boys, what would you have done had we been changing?"

"Um..." Carlos turned scarlet at the thought. "Ran away screaming bloody murder?"

Mal just grunted as she stood up and gestured for them to come in and close the door behind them. Everyone in the school did not need to know about their plans. Especially Audrey who was still the biggest gossip in all of Auradon.

"So, this is it?" Ben questioned, directing his question to Evie. "You and Doug are really going?" His voice wavered in sadness as he leaned against the wall and stared down at the floor.

Evie paused her sorting, noticing the look on his face. "Oh, Ben," she sighed, going over to him and handing him her handkerchief. "It's only for a short time," she tried to assure him. "We'll find Doug's mom and then we'll be back before you can say Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo."

Ben gave her a small smile as he looked up. "I know. And you two _should_ go. It's just...all of us here," he gestured to the group. "We've been through a lot together. From the moment the four of you arrived in Auradon, I sensed the change you were going to bring to this place. It just...feels so weird to split up the group, you know?"

Evie nodded. "I do. But we're coming back, Ben. This isn't goodbye."

"Maybe," Jane whispered, hurrying over and opening her arms for a hug. "But I'm still going to miss you!" Evie complied and the two girls hugged tightly. They were joined moments later by Lonnie, Mal, and then, even the boys.

"And, Evie?" Lonnie added as they stepped back and she took Evie's hands. "Promise you'll be careful." When Evie frowned in confusion, she went on. "Doug's mom has been laying low for eighteen years now. Chances are, when you do find her, she won't be pleased to see him. And seeing you, the daughter of a villain, probably isn't going to..._ease_...her nerves, sorry to say. We here at Auradon Prep love the VKs, don't get us wrong. But...there are many who share Queen Leah's old view...and may not take to kindly to seeing you."

"Yeah," Evie grimaced. "I've been thinking about that, and, I will._ Promise_. I've decided, when we find her, I'll let Doug do all the talking while I stand back and enjoy the heartfelt moment." She clasped her hands together, already envisioning it.

Carlos and Jay snorted, causing her to whip around and face them with a glare. "_What_?" she demanded.

"Nothing," Jay lied innocently as Carlos struggled to contain his snickers. "It's just...you...sidelined...kind of an awesome image."

Evie chucked her hairbrush at him as she went back to sorting her outfits between 'adventure-appropriate' and 'leave at home'.

"And, Evie, if you need anything," Mal went on. "And I do mean _anything_, _call us_. We'll do whatever we can." Her eyes flashed as she narrowed them, a sign to Evie that she really meant it. 

"We want to help," Ben added, readjusting his sweater nervously. "Evie, you're like a sister to me. Doug's my best friend. If there is ever anything I can do, as king, I promise that I'll do it."

Evie smiled at them. "Thank you. Thank you all. For just being there when the four of us arrived from the Isle. Thank you for being my friends, for never giving up on me, and for everything you've done over the past years. Lonnie, thank you for teaching us how to bake cookies, and showing us how to be _compassionate_ and _kind. _Jane, I _know_ we were a little scary at first, but thank you for not...you know...running away screaming. And Ben," she reached the king. "Thank you for giving us a chance. I know I came on kind of strong when we met and I found out you were a prince and all, but, you were _s_o right. We did have a good side. It just took you believing in us for us to realize it ourselves."

Before Ben could reply, there was a knock at the door and Doug peeked in. "Hey," he said to Evie. And then he saw everybody else and his eyes widened. _" Whoa_. Okay. Everyone's..._here_."

"Of course!" Jay exclaimed. " We couldn't let the two of you walk off into your fairy tale without harassing you a bit first."

Doug chuckled nervously as he entered the room and found himself almost immediately surrounded by his friends. "Um...thanks? But you guys _do_ realize we're going to be back, right? This is only temporary. And it's certainly _no_t a fairy tale." He readjusted his glasses and let out a small help as Jay slung an arm around him, perhaps with a bit too much Tourney roughness, as Doug staggered slightly.

"Are you all packed?" Evie questioned as she carried one final arm-load of clothing over to add her her bags. Doug nodded and turned so she could see his backpack. _Surely that can't hold all that much_, Evie reasoned. "What do you have in there?" She questioned.

Doug flashed her a brief look of surprise. "Just some clothes, a little bit of food, a sleeping bag. Why?"

"You mean, you're not bringing..." Evie struggled to find the words. "_More_?"

Doug gave her a small smile. "I'm a Boy Scout," he reminded her. "And, if there's one thing I know, it's how to survive in nature."

"_Really_?" Evie teased. "I thought it was mining for jewels."

Doug smirked. It was a well-known fact that the dwarf hated _anything_ to do with the mines, even more so since Morgana had almost manage to kill him there. "Are you ready?" he asked her.

She nodded slowly, and then turned once more to Mal to say something. "It'll be fine, Evie," Mal interrupted, embracing her friend in a tight hug. "You two will do great. And remember --"

"Mal," Evie said gently. "I _know_. And, actually, there _is_ something you can do for me."

Mal flashed her a look of surprise. "What's that?"

As Evie whispered her plan to the purplette, the others said their farewells to Doug. This consisted of several hugs (from Jane and Lonnie), a handshake (Ben), and a few pats on the back (Carlos and Jay). And then, the group converged once more as Evie and Doug started toward the door. The whoops and goodbyes continued until they were out the door and down the hall.

Then, they walked in silence until Doug finally broke the quiet. "Thank you for coming, Evie," he said softly.

She smiled. "Of course. So, what's the game plan?"

He returned the smile. "It's simple, really. But, first, I have two questions."

"Shoot."

"Have you ever ridden a horse?"

"I...have not...to be honest."

"All right. I guess I'll have to teach you then. No biggie. Now... second question."

"Yeah?"

"Is there a hairdryer somewhere in that bag?"

Evie threw back her head and laughed all the way to the stables.


	5. The Plan

Shortly after Evie and Doug's departure, Mal found herself hurrying across campus toward the secret classroom where Ben kept Maleficent under heavy guard. Ever since the lizard had briefly disappeared, Mal had consistently checked in on her, just to be sure. She still wasn't sure how Maleficent had gotten out...or...even more, how she'd managed to get back _in_ without anyone noticing. 

"Excuse me, excuse me," she mumbled, shouldering her way through the crowd. She tried to keep her head down and look inconspicuous. However, she could feel the heat of someone's gaze burning into her back as she passed a hallway. She could have sworn she saw an orange beanie...

"Mal! Mal! Wait up!" 

She groaned as she heard Ben's overly loud voice and his frantic footsteps as he rounded the bend and hurried after her. Still, she knew she wasn't going to outrun him. So, instead, she put on a fake smile and spun to face him. "Ben!" 

Ben slid to a halt in front of her and frowned. "Okay, what is it?"

Mal shrugged. "What do you mean?" 

"Mal," He took her hands and stared seriously into her eyes."You know me. I know you. And I can tell when you're hiding something. So...?" He waited, and when she hesitated, he merely sighed. He didn't stop staring at her and he didn't let go. "_Mal_? Come on, you can tell me."

Mal gave him a look but decided it was better to answer than pretend. "Evie asked me to talk to my mother," she admitted. "And see if she could tell us anything useful about what they're getting themselves into."

Ben nodded. Mal was surprised that he wasn't angry or upset. She supposed he'd grown accustomed to her wild plans by now. After all, they'd managed to save Auradon _three_ times already. Four of one counted Morgana, though it had been mostly Evie and Doug doing all the work. "You're not...gonna say anything?"

Ben shrugged. "I mean, what is there to say? Evie's been studying Auradon's old legends for weeks now. I doubt there's anything she's overlooked. But, if there is, there's a good chance Maleficent knows about it. But," He did seem a bit concerned. " How do you know she'll tell you anything?"

"Simple," Mal replied. " I'll just find a way to...convince her...to help. And, while we're at it, can you maybe text Jay and Carlos and see if they'd be willing to talk to Evil Queen? See if she's ready to talk yet after three days of isolation. "

"Sure," Ben answered, pulling out his phone to send the messages. "But I'm coming with you to see Maleficent. "

"Oh..." Mal flushed. " You really don't have to... "

Ben smiled. "Well, actually, I _do_. Not only is Maleficent your mother, she's also the most powerful villain in Auradon. It's my responsibility to make sure she's secure." He was trying to make it clear that he wasn't imposing on her, merely upholding his kingly duties. 

Mal let a real smile creep onto her face now. "Okay," she agreed. "I suppose you can come."

He beamed.

"_But_!" Mal quickly added, holding up her hand before he could get too excited. "If my mom makes even _one move_ to turn you into a toad, you're out. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Ben said. 

"All right," Mal said, taking a deep breath and putting on a brave face. "Let's go." With that, she turned and began power-walking down the corridor, Ben in hot pursuit. 

Three corridors, and fifteen classrooms later, they finally arrived. It was the last door on the right. A little ways down the hall, Mal could hear the guard's timed footsteps. Ben cautiously unlocked the door and the two of them entered the cold, dark room. On a small pedestal near the middle was Maleficent's terrarium. Mal approached it first with Ben right behind her. The lizard paused and glanced up, flicking her tongue in and out passively.

"Well, well, if it isn't my treacherous daughter," came the quiet (and very unsettling) hiss. Maleficent moved up onto a rock to give them a more convincing glare, though it was a bit difficult as a glare. "And Prince Beasty as well, what an honor."

"He's King, actually," Mal snapped. "But that's not what's important right now. Tell us everything you know about Doug."

"The _dwarf_," Maleficent sneered. "Oh, yes, I've heard a lot about _him_. I recall when he came to see Evie, back when I was kept in your room. Very passionate boy, irritatingly optimistic, painfully caring and generous. A bit on the shorter, weaker side. _Hardly_ fit to be a hero. Oh...but you know all of this already. Might I assume there's something..._more_...you're reaching for?"

"Morgana. NeoMerlin," Ben added, ignoring Maleficent's insults to his friend.

"Ah, yes,_ that_ old legend. Ol' Morg was_ obsessed_, let me tell you. It was all she thought of constantly. _Really_ irking when one is simply trying to enjoy a cup of spoiled-cream coffee. Anyway, rumor has it the NeoMerlin was found. And that he stopped Morgana, which serves her right if you care about my opinion." She trailed off here, her eyes narrowed, and she drew back with a startled hiss. "Don't tell me it was Dopey's kid! _Ha! _The irony of it all."

"What's so funny?" Mal demanded. 

"My dear, do you not know who he _is_?" Maleficent chortled. "Has his dear old_ dad _not told him _anything_?"

"What's so funny?" Ben echoed in annoyance. "What does Dopey know?"

Maleficent only shrugged and began retreating back toward her little tiki-hut. "When you find out, come back and ask me again. Until then, I have the cartoon portion of the newspaper to read. _Farewell!_"

"Wow," Ben commented, turning to face Mal. "You're mom is--"

"Wacko, I know," Mal interjected. "Come on," she added, taking his hand and turning to lead him out of the room.

"Wait, where are we going now?"

"To find the one person who might be able to explain what is going on around here."

***

"EVIE! _PLEASE_! I'M_ BEGGING_ YOU!_ SLOW DOWN_!"

Doug's voice was muffled by Evie's heavy wing beats as the two of them swooped high above the forest floor. His face was buried into her neck and his eyes were squeezed tightly shut. He refused to open them, or to look down at the dizzying drop below him. _ I think I'm going to be sick..._

"Come on, Doug!" Evie yelled over the wind, her voice hardly audible through the translation device Carlos had designed. "This place is so beautiful! Enjoy the view!" She dipped right and pulled roughly in that direction, causing Doug to grip her tighter and grit his teeth.

_You're going to be enjoying my lunch if you don't knock it off! _Doug said nothing. He just kept his face hidden. He could feel the wind whipping past them. If he were to guess, he'd say they were traveling at seventy miles an hour at the least. He still didn't understand why Evie hadn't wanted to travel by horse, _or_ why she had insisted that _flying_ was any better. _"EVIE!" _

They passed a bubbling stream and a large hollow. Without warning, Evie suddenly swooped around and came back to said hollow, spreading her wings and landing gently into the grass, much to Doug's relief. She grunted something incoherent as he gratefully (and nauseously) slid from her back and flattened himself against the solid ground, struggling to stop the world from spinning. He was aware of the bright flash of light behind him as Evie transformed back and he slowly detached himself from the ground. "_Please_," he begged. "Don't _ever_ make me do that again!"

Evie ignored him. "I think this would be a good place to stop for the night," she decided. She glanced out through the trees. Doug did the same. Far off, in the distance, he could see Snow White's castle, and, a little further on, Charmington. 

"All right," Doug agreed, taking several deep breaths to calm his racing heart. "I'll start on the tents while you go find some rocks for the fire."

Evie made a face at him. "Rocks? Why don't you just use tree branches? Besides, rocks don't light."

Doug sighed. "The rocks aren't to put_ in_ the fire, Evie. They're to make a ring _around_ it. First thing you learn as a Boy Scout is how to make a fire ring and keep the entire forest from going up in flames."

"_Ohhhh_, that makes_ so_ much more sense!" Evie laughed as she started toward the trees.

Doug watched her go with a sigh. Half dreamy, half exasperated. He thought of all that had happened since they'd left only hours ago. First, Evie had been too afraid to get on the horse and announced that she would just use the Dragonstone (though how she'd gotten it out of the museum, Doug didn't even hazard a guess) and fly them there. He, of course, was not overly thrilled with the idea, mostly due to the fact that he'd have to be_ in the air_. And he was afraid of _heights_. But, as always, Evie won. 

Next, she had spent the entire trip quizzing and racking his brain for clues as to where his mother might be, even though he had explained _multiple times _that he hadn't seen his mother since he was four years old and furthermore, had _no idea_ where she would be, considering he had been told that she'd been _dead_ for the past fourteen years. 

Finally, she had not the first idea about how to camp, as he'd mentioned a year ago to Jay and Carlos. It wasn't like he was angry at her for it, but there was mild irritation. _I would be able to_ _cover much more ground on my own_, flashed his brain. _She doesn't have to tag along with me. I am perfectly capable of doing this myself!_

He groaned when he realized what he was imagining. What _was_ he_ thinking? _He'd never thought like that before! Especially not about _Evie_! No, he was happy she'd decided to come along! Not irritated! Not mad! Those emotions were not his! 

So where had they come from?

"Found some!" 

He turned at Evie's call, to find her carrying an armload of large rocks. "Perfect, thank you." He forced a smile as he took them from her and began to create a circle with them. She knelt down beside him to observe. He felt his heart flutter at their closeness, but that feeling of joy faded fast as the dark thoughts once more overtook him.

_Just leave her behind._

_You don't need her. _

_You're better off without her._

Doug groaned again. This time, Evie noticed and her head shot up in surprise. "Doug?" she questioned. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Doug lied, wincing as a sharp pain shot through his head. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit...dizzy...excuse me." Without waiting for a response, he jumped to his feet and took off for the trees. He felt his stomach churning, and, for a second, he thought he was about to throw up. Instead, the pain just rose higher and higher until it settled around his heart. "_Argh_!" he gasped, falling to his knees and clutching his chest. "What's..._happening_?"

The pain exploded throughout the rest of his body, forcing him into all fours. He gagged, heaving, struggling to breath. Darkness started to overtake him. The world around him was fading.

The last thing he heard before consciousness left him was a bone-chilling laugh.

And then everything was gone.


	6. A Tale as Old as Time

"Ah, Carlos, Jay, welcome to my humble aboad." Evil Queen's voice was laced with sarcasm and venom. She eyed the two boys suspiciously as they neared her cell. "I'd offer the both of you something to drink, but, as you can see," she held up her shackled hands. "I'm a bit otherwise occupied. So, what brings two of Auradon's _heroes_ here to see me? Is Evie with you? Evie? Evie!" She leaned up, scanning the empty hall behind them hopefully.

"Yeah, Evie's not here," Carlos answered coldly. "She's out fixing the problem _yo_u created."

"Oh," Evil Queen growled, deflating at these words. "The dwarf. I should have known. Rotten, good-for-nothing, and pathetic. That's all that boy is. He's not even a prince for Hades' sake! How he could _possibly_ be the son of a villain, I haven't a clue." She shrugged and went back to staring dumbly at her hands.

"Who is his mother? " Jay questioned.

Evil Queen barked out a laugh. "You mean you haven't _guessed? _My dear boy, it's as plain as day...or...well...night, I suppose. Never did like the daytime all that much. Too much sun isn't good for one's complexion."

"So you're a vampire," Carlos snapped. "Tell us something we don't already know. Something preferably _helpful_."

"And why should I help you?" she fired back. " You're the ones that put me here in the first place!"

_You did that to yourself_, Carlos so badly wanted to snap. But, instead, he took a deep breath and channeled his anger. "Evie offered you a deal," he reminded her. "Help us now, and I'll honor that deal."

Evil Queen snorted. "Like I'd ever help a hero."

"You know what? _Fine_," Carlos threw his hands up in exasperation. "Stay here for the rest of your life. You're not _my_ mother. I don't care. We'll help Doug on our own. Come on, Jay." He grabbed Jay's arm and started pulling him toward the door.

There was a shuffle of movement from the cell. "If you want to find the dwarf's mother," Evil Queen growled. "Go back to the place where it all began." The boys glanced back, hoping for something a little more to go on but Evil Queen had apparently said all that she was going to and had clammed up once more. 

"Care to elaborate?" Jay suggested.

Evil Queen shook her head. 

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Carlos growled. "Jay, let's go." With that, the two boys started back toward the door. They threw open the gates and headed back toward Evie's to meet up with the others. "Text Evie," Carlos went on. "Tell her what Evil Queen told us. Maybe Doug'll know something we don't."

"Yeah..." Jay hastily obeyed. As he did, Carlos' phone vibrated and he quickly glanced at it.

"It's Mal," he read. "Emergency meeting at Ben's in ten." 

"Wonder what this could be about?" Jay wondered aloud. 

Carlos shrugged as he pocketed the phone once more. "No clue. Come on," he added, clapping his friend on the shoulder and signaling them both to break into a jog. "Let's go find out."

They burst through the door a few minutes later, Jay first and Carlos right behind him. They found the others already there. Mal and Ben near the door, Jane and Lonnie hovering by the window, and to their surprise, there were Evie and Doug. Doug was lying limply on the couch while Evie sat beside him, tears shining in her eyes. 

"What happened?" Jay demanded, hurrying over while Carlos hastily shut the door.

Evie glanced up at them and shook her head. "I don't know," she answered, her voice cracking. "One minute he said he was fine, the next, I find him unconscious. We were just outside of Charmington." She glanced over at his motionless form and a tear rolled down her cheek.

"And you carried him all the way back?" Carlos asked.

She nodded. "I had to."

"I'm just grateful you didn't get any further than you did," Ben spoke up now. He came over to put a hand on her shoulder. "You should go rest," he added in a whisper. "We'll call you as soon as he wakes up." She looked up at him, but didn't try to protest. With a nod, she stood up and headed off into another room. 

"Mal," Jay whispered, walking over to the purplette. "What happened?"

Mal seemed just as puzzled as the rest of them. "I wish I could say," she said. "From what Evie told me, Doug got hit with some kind of curse. But when I performed a counter spell, nothing happened."

"Wait..." Carlos hurried over to join in on the conversation. "Are you saying Doug _wasn't_ spelled?"

"I'm_ saying _it doesn't seem that way," Mal replied. "Ben," she turned to the king. "Does Doug have any medical issues? Any reason that he could faint without warning?"

Ben thought for a moment before answering. "No," he decided. "Not unless you count his panic attacks. But even those are few and sporadic. Nothing like that could have caused this."

"Could it be his powers?" Carlos questioned. All eyes turned to him and he shrunk back a little under the pressure. "It's just...I've _heard_...powers take years to grow and mature, just like a person. Force magic too soon, and something like this might happen. That's just...what I've heard anyway..."

"Oh, it's true!" Jane piped up, taking a tiny step forward. "Mom talked about it _all _the time. How important it was that as soon as I showed the first signs of magic, that I learned not to push it too much."

"Wait," Carlos turned to face her. "_Do_ you have magic?"

Jane shrugged. "No. I mean, not a lot. Nothing like what Mal can do."

Mal nodded, but she was clearly deep in thought. "So this sounds like something more natural. In any case, we'll have to wait for him to wake up before we know anything for sure."

"And how long will that be?" Lonnie questioned.

Mal shrugged. "I don't have any idea. A few hours, minimum. A day or two, max. We'd better find something to preoccupy ourselves with. Chances are it's going to be a while. Which reminds me, what did you guys find out from Evil Queen?"

Jay grimaced. "Not much. She just said, 'go back to where it all began'. So, maybe the cottage? That's where Doug was born, right? Granted that might be a bit difficult while it's being rebuilt. What about you?"

"Maleficent was no help either," Ben answered. "But I get the strange feeling she knew something."

"Same with Evil Queen," Carlos commented.

"The question is, what?"

"Well, there's nothing more we can do here right now," Mal told them. "When Doug wakes up, we'll see if they mean anything to him."

"Well, in that case," Jay stood up and stretched. "I'm gonna go practice some fencing. You guys wanna join?"

Carlos shook his head. "Nah. I'm gonna try and get some shut-eye. Thanks though."

"Fencing isn't really my thing," Mal admitted.

"Mine either," Jane agreed.

"I'll stay here with the girls," Ben decided. "Just in case."

"Well, _I'll _come fence with you," Lonnie sighed, standing up and following him toward the door. "Let us know if anything changes," she added.

"Will do," Ben promised as the two disappeared around the corner and out into the yard. He put a hand in Mal's shoulder. She looked up at him and smiled. He returned it lovingly.

***  
She gasped, falling back against the cold stone wall as the pain flooded through her body. It was like fire, but she was _feeling_. It has been so long. So long since she'd felt anything. _And it is all his doing_. The boy. The dwarf. His life force. It was giving her strength. She was siphoning it. And soon, she would have enough. She'd be strong enough to return, stronger even than the NeoMerlin, or even Merlin _himself_.

_And_ _then_ _they_ _will_ _all_ _pay_!

Gathering herself back up and pulling her cloak tighter around her, she moved toward the stream. There, in its depths, she could see him as he had once been. Weak. Helpless. A mere _child_ longing for his mother. But no more. Things had changed. Now he was the NeoMerlin, destined to destroy her.

Unless she destroyed him first.

_Those_ _fools_ _who_ _tried_ _so_ _hard_ _to_ _protect_ _him_, _they_ _know_ _nothing_ _about_ _his_ _true_ _identity_. _But_ _they_ _are_ _about_ _to_ _learn_ _a_ _lesson_ _they_ _will_ never _forget_. _When_ _I'm_ _through_ _with_ _them_, _never_ _again_ _will_ _they_ _so_ _much_ _as_ _lift_ _a_ _finger_ _to_ _aid_ _him_. _He'll_ _be_ _abandoned_, _left_ _alone_, weak.

"And _then_," she hissed to the silence. "His soul will be _mine_!" 


	7. A Sorcerer from Old

The following hours seemed to pass by in slow motion. At first, Evie had done as Ben had suggested and had tried to get some shut eye. It was no good. Whenever she closed her eyes, she just kept replaying the moment she'd found him over and over. The fear she'd experienced when she'd called his name over and over to no reply, the sheer panic she'd felt as she'd started to search. And when she found him, just the feeling of terror that he might be dead. That someone had killed him the moment he'd wandered off. She couldn't help but feel like an overprotective parent, even though she knew Doug was more than capable of taking care of himself. 

She'd then attempted to preoccupy herself with designing a few more gowns for the senior prom, but found herself unable to focus on her work. She eventually gave up on that as well and went to the window, watching as Jay and Lonnie sparred. She couldn't help but smile. No matter the situation, they always managed to find time to fence. Never mind that it was the middle of the night.

"E?"

She lifted her head tiredly at Mal's gentle call. The purplette stuck her head around the door and knocked quietly. "Hey, can I come in?" Evie nodded and gestured for Mal to take a seat beside her work desk. Mal didn't hesitate, but instead bolted in and threw herself into the chair. Evie raised a questioning eyebrow at her antics, but Mal seemed too serious for it to have been a joke. "How are you holding up?" Mal questioned. 

Evie shrugged and went back to staring out the window. Mal took that as _not well_. She went over to sit down next to her friend. "He's going to be okay, you know that don't you? Doug's going to be fine."

Evie nodded slowly. "But what if I hadn't been there for him?" she asked. "What if something like this happens again? Mal, I don't know if I could live if something happened to him and I wasn't there to help!"

"_Evie,_" Mal spoke firmly. "I know how you feel, believe me. It's the same with Ben and me. But you can't be there every second of Doug's life. You're going to have to trust him to handle some things on his own. Even when you want to be there."

Evie sighed and brushed a loose strand of hair from her face. "Any luck on finding the spell that did this?" 

Mal shook her head. "No, but Uma and Harry are coming to help. In fact they should be here any--" She was interrupted by the slamming of a door. They both looked up at Ben's greeting. Mal stood up first and headed for the door. Evie was right behind her. 

"Mal, Evie," Uma greeted them with a small nod as they returned to the main hall. "Thank you for waking us all up in the middle of the night, and for being completely incapable of containing yourself." She held up her phone with the text message from Mal. All in capital letters, followed by about a dozen exclamation points. Before Mal or Evie could protest, she turned away from them and faced Doug. "And what's wrong with magician-boy _now_?" 

"We don't know," Ben answered for the girls. He seemed physically distressed, wringing his hands and pacing the floor. It made sense. He and Doug had been best friends before either of them could speak. It had to be torture to watch the dwarf go through this now. "We were hoping, since the two of you know a lot more about the Isle...and the villains and their spells...you might know what this is and how to counteract it."

"Oh," Uma sighed. "We're from the Isle. So we're supposed to know every type of spell that's out there. Is that it?" 

"Uh...no?" Ben stammered. "That's not what I meant..." He looked toward Mal for help. 

"Oh, relax, Beast," Uma rolled her eyes and waved her hand dismissively. "I'm just messing with you. Evie!" she added. The bluenette hurried over obediently. "How long has he been like this?" When she frowned, Uma groaned. "I expect you to know. He's_ your _boyfriend after all!"

"Not long," Evie answered quietly. "We were on our way to Charmington. So...less than...three hours." She glanced worriedly toward Doug. "One minute he was fine. The next, he collapsed. Mal says she can't find anything wrong with him. Not a spell, anyway."

"I see." Uma shared a look with Harry who shrugged. "Well, have you ever considered the possibility that it's not spell related at all? I mean, these can be physical problems too, right? Maybe he just has...seizures?" The others looked at her. "Yeah,_ yeah_, I know. I'm reaching. But honestly, I don't know any kind of curse like this."

"Fortunately enough for you, young lady," came a new gruff voice from the doorway. "I _do_."

Everyone turned in surprise to see an older man standing in the doorway, leaning slightly on his cane. The long white beard, the twinkling eyes, and the blue cape, it took Evie only moments to recognize the new arrival. "_Merlin,_" she breathed as Uma and Harry stepped back in alarm to make room for the man to enter. 

"Merlin," Ben said, stepping forward and extending his hand to the famous sorcerer. "Thank you so much for coming so quickly."   
  
Merlin chuckled. "Think nothing of it, my boy. When the _king _sends a messenger and asks for my assistance, I can only assume it is important." His eyes fell on Doug. "Is that him?"

Ben nodded. "Yes. And we can't figure out what's wrong with him. We were hoping you might be able to help us out." He stepped aside to make room for the sorcerer to get through and then retreated to join the others, anxiously waiting. 

"Hmmm," Merlin hummed, approaching the couch and waving his staff over the dwarf. "Yes...I have seen this...once before. But..it's...odd."

"What?" Mal questioned, coming over to stand beside him. "What's odd?"

Merlin glanced over at the young fairy. "There is power here," he replied. "But it's not...ordinary. It's like...the dark and the light...are fighting...inside of him. The black magic, and that of hope and light. He is the NeoMerlin without a doubt. I...suppose...you know the legends?" He turned back to face the others curiously. 

"We've heard them," Jay answered as he and Lonnie stepped back in side to join them. He folded his arms and leaned back against the wall, waiting. "But that doesn't explain what's happening to him."

"That's because you haven't heard the _entire_ story," Merlin answered, stepping back and lowering his staff. "Yes, the NeoMerlin is the offspring of a hero and villain. However, that's only the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more you don't know."

"Like what?" Lonnie questioned.

"He's at war with himself," Merlin explained. "His powers are running rampant. They are uncontrolled, untamed, and, without proper training, potentially dangerous. Look," He sighed deeply. "For now, he'll be fine. He'll wake up in a few hours perfectly normal. But, I'd keep an eye on him if I were you. The longer this draws on for, the harder it will be for him to control the magic...and his emotions." He straightened back up and started hobbling toward the door. 

"So what should we do?" Evie questioned, following the warlock and opening the door for him. 

"For now?" Merlin paused and turned back to face her. "Just...try to keep him in the light."

"How long does he have?" Mal demanded.

Merlin hesitated. "He has my powers, yes, but this is like nothing I have ever seen. I'd say...three days? A week at the most. You have you find the source of his powers...meaning his biological parents. Only they will have the key that can save him." With that, the magician disappeared into a cloud of smoke. 

"Okay, so, we know where Dopey is," Ben said slowly, coughing and waving away the fog. "So we'll start with him. But what about Doug's mother?"

"That's who we were on our way to find when all of this happened," Evie whispered, folding her arms worriedly. She glanced her her shoulder at Doug once more. "I'm really worried about him. He's been acting a bit...touchy...recently. What if we can't find his mom? What if what Merlin says comes true?" She felt the tears in her eyes and she quickly wiped them away. 

"We won't let it," Mal answered determinedly. "Evie." She put an arm around her friend reassuringly. "I _promise_. We'll figure this out. Everything will be all right."

"I hope so," Evie whispered. "I _really_ hope so."

Doug came around about an hour later. Evie was sitting across the room from him, sketching something into her notebook when she heard his quiet groan. She looked up quickly, breathing a sigh of relief to find his pale green gaze on her. "Hey," she heard him whisper as she stood up, sat her book down on the table, and went over to kneel beside him. 

"Hey," she replied, taking his hands and helping him sit up. "How are you feeling?"

"Honestly?" Doug grunted as he laid back against the mountain of pillows she'd prepared for him. "Lousy." He gave her a small smile. "What happened?" He glanced around at the room, squinting slightly at the painfully bright paintings covering the eastern wall. "This isn't Charmington," he noted. "Are we...at Ben's?" 

Evie nodded as she moved to sit next to him. "Yeah. Long story. Short version, there's more to the legend than we thought. And..." she hesitated.

Doug sat up and frowned. "And?" 

Evie couldn't look at him. It was too painful. "Well...you see..it's hard to explain, but..."

"Ah," Doug sighed, flopping back again. "That's that then, isn't it? I'm toast."

She frowned. "You're taking this incredibly well," she commented. "Aren't you at least a little bit curious to know the rest of the legend?"

Doug shook his head. "No. Not really. Besides," he added, starting to stand up. "I can guess how it ends. Merlin was here?" It sounded more like a statement than a question. Evie couldn't deny it so she just nodded. "Thought so," Doug went on in his know-it-all voice. "And what did he say?"

"Oh...you see...that's the...hard part. He said...that...something's gone..._wrong_...with your magic. He can't explain it. He just said..."

"That I don't have much time?"

_Now_ Evie was getting suspicious. "How long ago did you wake up?" she snapped.

Doug flashed her a dorky grin. "A few seconds after Merlin arrived, actually. Long enough to hear that I'm a hopeless endeavor." The smile faded and he looked down at his hands grimly. 

"Doug! _No_!" Evie took his hands again. He looked up, tears glistening in his eyes. "I'm not giving up on you! And the others aren't either. We're_ going_ to get through this, okay? We'll figure out what's going on and we'll fix it. There's no reason to be concerned."

Doug lifted his gaze to hers once more. He looked like he wanted to say something more but he was interrupted by a poorly timed yell from Mal as she burst into the room in a furious dragon-like glare. "Oh, good. Doug. You're awake. E," she said, breezing past the dwarf who seemed unbothered as he stood up to make room for the girl. "I need your help." 

"Yeah, sure, of course." Evie shot Doug one last look of _we'll continue this conversation later_ as Mal pulled her out of the room. "Mal! Mal, wait! Slow down! What's going on?" She didn't know what it was, but, by the look on Mal's face, she had a feeling it was bigger than what could be fixed with a needle and a bit of thread. 


	8. Darkness of the Light

Her arrival on the Isle was not well received.

She hadn't expected it to be.

After all, after ridding themselves of one sorceress, the idiotic civilians of darkness turned to another to rule them. And how had that gone for them? She'd left the Isle, only to be reduced to nothing more than a pathetic, worthless, and entirely useless lizard. Even the greatest of the greats were of no use to her. Which was why she was going back after swearing _never_ to step foot in such a horrid, flea-ridden, sorry excuse for a kingdom_ again_.

As much as she hated to admit it, she needed help.

And there was only one person on the entire _blasted _island whom she knew she could trust.

She scowled as she landed in the center of Devil's Square, her sharp glare piercing through all of her startled and terrified onlookers. Men, women, children of all ages. She watched in amusement as they turned tail and ran, back to their shabby shops and hopeless excuses for what they called houses. That is, all except for one. A dark haired man with a walking cane. He smirked as he strode toward her, seemingly ignorant to the frantic bodies pushing around him to escape.

She smirked wickedly as he approached the ring and bowed gracefully before her. "My queen," he whispered, glancing up hopefully at her. "You have come. And you look so..._human_. But..._how_?"

"Horvath," she responded in turn, signaling him to straighten up. "My most loyal servant. Walk with me." She gestured for him to follow as she turned and, placing one foot down on the cracked pavement, found her entire self able to stand on solid ground once more. She paused and inhaled deeply. _Progress_, she thought to herself. _The boy is weakening_._ It won't be much longer now. "_I expect you know by know of the predicament in Auradon?"

Horvath glanced over at her in brief surprise before looking away just as quickly. "If you are referring to the NeoMerlin, than yes. It was all over the news. Quite the spectacle you put on, I might add." He fiddled with the end of his cane. "So what's the plan?"

"The boy must be eliminated," Morgana decided. "But it has become clear that we are...too..._attached_, one might say. I cannot harm him. Not while he is under Merlin's protection. Which is where I need your assistance."

"Anything you need, I will do. I am entirely at your mercy."

"Very well," Morgana went on. "I want you to go to Auradon. And I want you to _kill_ the NeoMerlin. Make no mistake, Horvath. I am not the forgiving kind. Fail me again, and I'll feed you to your own wolves." With that, she turned and started toward the heart of the Isle.

Auradon would be hers.

And no weakling of a dwarf was going to stand between her and victory.


	9. A Clash of Warlocks

_Give me one good reason. Two more to believe in, and three shots at why I should wait. 'Cause I got one more match. Two strikes left. You got to three to get out of my way. _~"Let the Sparks Fly" by Thousand Foot Krutch  
  


"Mal, what is it?" Evie questioned as she was drug away from the others toward the guest room that she supposed was her friend's. "What's wrong?" Other than the legend being unfinished, Doug dying, and probably a million other things that her mind was struggling to comprehend at that moment, of course. 

"It's my spell book," Mal answered without slowing. They rounded a corner and Evie nearly tripped as Mal put on another burst of speed. "Something's wrong with it."

Evie frowned. "Your spell book? Mal, I thought you took it back to the museum after Morgana was destroyed!" 

"That's just it!" Mal replied. "I _did_! But it's back!"

"_Back_? How could it be back? Mal, that makes _no_ sense! Could you just _wait_ for a second so we could _talk_ about this? Besides, Doug's back there and I really don't want to leave him alone and--"

"Evie, _please_," Mal interrupted her. "This is really important!" They rounded a final corner and Mal paused beside a door, turning to face Evie pleadingly. "I need your help. I need to be sure I'm not seeing things." She looked so desperate. Evie had never seen her like this. All her hesitation melted away as she gave a small nod.

"All right," she gave in. "I'll look at it."

"Thank you," Mal breathed a sigh of relief as she pushed open the door to her room and stepped back to make room for Evie to squeeze past. The bluenette stepped into the perfectly purple bedroom, glancing briefly at the enormous dragon paintings hanging from all walls.

"Those are pretty," she noted, pointing them out.

"You like them?" Mal questioned, slipping through the door behind her. "I painted them. Ben seemed to think it might be a bit too much. But what does he know about art, anyway?" She rolled her eyes teasingly and went over to her nightstand where the familiar leather-bound book was resting. 

Evie gave a small smile as she came over to join her friend. Mal was busy running a gentle hand over the binding of the spell book. The once bright green dragon on the cover had faded by this point. It was actually a faint shade of sickly green and blue. It looked so weird. Evie began to point it out but then stopped. Mal didn't seem to notice, or be too bothered by it. So perhaps she was only imagining it. She waited as Mal hastily flipped through the pages, sighing as though greeting an old friend. 

"Speed spells, levitation spells, make-your-enemies-disappear spells..._oh_, _that_ one might be useful!"

"Yeah, _no_," Evie interjected quickly, leaning over and snatching the book out of Mal hands and tucking it securely under her arm. "No more spells, okay? If we're going to figure this out, we're going to do it without magic."

Mal snorted. "Says the one who has magic and doesn't _need_ a book."

Evie rolled her eyes playfully and started to walk away, tying her hair up into a loose ponytail as she went. "Mal?" she questioned, leaning against the window sill and gazing out at the darkening sky. A storm was on the horizon. And, she thought darkly. It wasn't just the weather. 

"Yeah?"

"What if...what if this...doesn't...work? What if we can't find Doug's mom? I mean, even if Dopey agrees to help us, the woman's been missing for _fourteen_ years! She won't be easy to track down. And if we only have a few days...what could we do in a few measly days when Doug's spent his whole life searching for her? Mal?" She turned back toward her friend for reassurance. 

"I don't know," Mal said gently, coming over to lean beside her. "I suppose...we just have to hope for the best, you know? The news of defeating Morgana wasn't kept under wraps very well. And news travels fast around here. If his mom_ is_ still alive, no doubt she heard what happened. And, correct me if I'm wrong. I'm no mother, but, I think, if _my_ son had been born with extraordinary powers,_ I'd_ be keeping a close ear on the news and I certainly would_ not_ stay in hiding if I knew he needed my help."

Evie nodded and smirked slightly. "You're right. And that's why your going to be a great mother someday. Your kids will be lucky to have such a great parent like you." 

Mal wrinkled her nose. "_Kids_?" she squawked. "Who said anything about kids? Do I have to? Are...are they required?"

Evie laughed at Mal's sudden panic. "I...don't think you have to worry about that for a while yet," she chuckled. "But...yeah...you know what I mean." They smiled at each other and then, Mal held out her hand for her spell book. Evie handed it back over. 

"Thank you," Mal commented. "Now, come on," she added, gesturing for Evie to follow her. "I've got some studying to do. Maybe there's something in here that can help. Meanwhile, I think you should go explain all we've learned to Doug. We'll talk to Dopey first thing in the morning, okay?"

"Okay," Evie whispered, exiting the room quickly. _Talk? More like interrogate. In...sign language..._Evie sighed_. _She still didn't understand why Dopey wouldn't help them. Especially when Doug's life was on the line. Was he withholding information? Or did he simply not know anything?_ But he married the woman! He has to know something!_

She was hastily descending the stairs when the loud crash of thunder froze her in her steps. A flash of lightning followed and, as she swung toward the living room where the others were waiting, the front door exploded into a hundred pieces. Evie screamed, falling backward and covering her face as the wooden projectiles soared everywhere. She heard the yells of panic from Lonnie and Jane and the furious bellows of Jay and Ben. 

Another crash of thunder. As the last of the door hit the floor, Evie stumbled back to her feet, hurrying toward the others as a dark, cloaked figure morphed into existence in the front yard. She only got a quick glance at him but that was enough. He was dressed in all black. In one hand, he carried a long cane, in the other, some object she could not identify. But, one thing was for sure. He wasn't Merlin. 

And he looked like bad news.

"You there!" he roared, his voice deep and emotionless. He lifted his cane and pointed it toward the shocked teens. "NeoMerlin! I know you're in there! You think you're so strong? Why not face a_ real _magician and find out?"

"Hey," Evie hissed, running over and crouching down next to Jay and the others. Lonnie stood behind her, hand already on her sword. Jay was positioned right in front of them, waiting on Ben's signal as the king took shelter across the way. Jane and Carlos, meanwhile, had ducked behind the couch. And, to Evie's relief, Doug was with them. Both stared, wide-eyed, at the remains of the door. "Who is that guy?"

"No idea," Jay answered. "But I'd be willing to bet he's not a friend." 

"Yeah, good guess," Ben hissed. "So, now what?"

"Now," Jay grinned lopsidedly. "We have some fun." He glanced back at Lonnie. "You ready?" 

She drew her blade. "_Ready_." Without a word, the two of them took off out the door. 

"Jay! Lonnie! Wait a min--" Ben began, but it was too late. He groaned and looked straight at Evie. "Well, I guess we'd better go after them before they get themselves killed." He stood up and moved quickly toward the door. Evie nodded and shifted to join him. "On three?" She nodded. "One. Two. _Three_!" At his lead, the two leaped out of hiding and sprang into action. 

Evie moved first, fully intending to take the new arrival down with one blow. It took her only seconds to realize her mistake as she saw the man turn toward her and slam his staff against the ground. A force field erupted around him, smashing into her and sending her tumbling to the grass. Hearing the coughs and groans from all around her, she guessed it was safe to assume that the others had been hit as well. 

She struggled to get back her feet, ignoring the pain coursing through her body. She grit her teeth in frustration as she heard heavy footsteps. The man blew past her and stood before the entrance way. He snorted presumptuously and began fiddling with his cane. "Oh, come now. Sending your friends to do your dirty work? Not very sportsmanly of you, _boy_. When I say I want to challenge you, I _do_ expect you to at least make an appearance."

"Doug..." Evie heard Ben groan as the king rolled onto his side, heaving."Run..."

"Yes, Doug," the man went on mockingly. "That's it. Run away like the scared little boy you are. Run back to Merlin. I'm sure he'll take care of _everything_ for you." Nothing happened. No movement from inside the structure. Doug wasn't about to be tempted by such an obvious ruse. 

Evie rose to her feet now. _No one_ threatened her true love and got away with it! Without warning, she summoned her magic into her hands, feeling the heat flowing through her palms. Then, she released it all in one wave of power. The man turned at the last moment and swiped it away. His scowl and his glare were petrifying. "Bad move," he hissed, raising a hand toward her. She screamed as her feet left the ground and she slammed backward into a tree. _Hard_. She sunk to the ground, head spinning, lights bursting before her eyes. 

"EVIE!" Jay yelled. 

_That_ got a reaction. Evie blinked back the lights at the sound of slow footsteps from inside. _No._ She struggled to sit up, though she knew she was far too away to do anything to help him...or even stop him...from doing something _incredibly_ stupid.

Doug appeared in the doorway, shaking slightly, hands raised in surrender. "I'm the one you're looking for. So let my friends go." He spoke firmly, but Evie could hear the raw terror behind his words.

The man eyed Doug, as though deciding whether or not the dwarf was being serious and whether or not he actually _was _the NeoMerlin. He didn't seem convinced...until his gaze fell on Doug's ring. It wasn't the family's ring, embedded with the pickaxe emblem. It was his dragon ring, the very thing that symbolized that he really _wa_s magical. And it was obvious the man knew it when he saw it. 

"So..." he hissed, throwing his cane to his other hand and smirking slightly at him. "_You're_ the one? Oh, Morgana's told me _so much_ about you. But, being honest, I was expecting a bit..._more_." He raised his staff. "_Oh well_." He thrust his weapon forward and green lightning erupted from the end of the staff. It crashed into Doug who shrieked as he was thrown backward viciously. He hit the floor, wheezing, eyes squeezed shut tightly in agony. 

"DOUG!" Evie felt his pain was her own. She tried once more to stand, but found her muscles would not respond. 

The man moved forward, raising his staff for another strike. Doug's scream rose several decimals as he was electrocuted again and again. He curled into a helpless, quaking ball, and his sobs echoed throughout the building

"_Leave him alone_!" Out of no where, Carlos leaped into action, trying to tackle the man. Without warning, the man reacted, sidestepping the strike, and clocked Carlos in the back of the head, knocking him to the ground and out. 

"_Pathetic_," he spat, staring down at the white-haired boy disgustedly for a moment before turning once more to Doug.

And then he got hit by a candlestick.

He whirled around, glaring at the offender. Mal stood on the stairs before him, another candlestick at the ready. Her green eyes flashed dangerously as she struggled to contain her dragon-form. "Don't do it, Horvath," she warned, reeling her arm back, ready to throw the stick if necessary. "You know my mother. You know what I can do. So...make it easy on yourself and back away from him. _Now_!"

Horvath growled, recognizing her immediately. "Maleficent's daughter," he spat. "Still playing _hero _for that worthless prince, are you? You don't _truly believe_ you have more magic than I do! Who taught you everything you know?" She gave no reply. "Well," Horvath went on with a wicked smirk. "I'd love to stay and debate who was the better magician but, I'm afraid I am here for..." he glanced down at Doug and wrinkled his nose. "_Something else._" He knelt down beside the unresponsive boy and Mal hastily started to move. Horvath twisted toward her in exasperation. "For your father's sake. _Chill_." With a flick of his staff, Mal was frozen. "That's better. Now, where was I? Oh! That's right!" He turned back to Doug and knelt down next to him, keeping his cane across the boy's chest in case he came around as he roughly jerked the dragon ring from the dwarf's finger. "I'll be taking that. Don't want you getting any ideas, now would we?" He slid it into his pocket and stood back up, adjusting his jacket and hat. "Morgana has something _very _special planned for you. Oh, just you wait. It's sure to be a _showstopper_." With that, he straightened up and swished his cane, unfreezing Mal who staggered, catching herself on the railing. 

Then, with a deep chuckle, he disappeared. 


	10. Once Bitten and Twice as Dopey

_"My time has come, millennium. The revolution has begun. Set it off, set it off, watch it blow. This time, rewriting history. One life, one fire, remember me! Set it off, set if off, watch it blow! _~Set it Off by Skillet

**Time** **until** **Doomsday**: **60** **hours**

"What in Auradon did you think you were _doing_?" Evie exclaimed as Doug threw himself onto the couch with a grunt. He hastily scooted over, making room for Carlos who joined him a moment later, holding an ice pack to his head.

"Um...saving your life?" Doug mumbled. "And you're welcome, by the way." He sat back and closed his eyes with a groan. Evie looked over at him sourly as she took a seat across from him and went back to her sketchbook, shaking her head in submission. "Oh, _what_?" Doug snapped. "So, that's it then? No 'thank you'? No 'good job, Doug. You risked your life and defeated an evil warlock'? _Nothing_?"

"My head, despite feeling a lot like a baseball, thanks you," Carlos grunted.

"Technically,_ I _stopped Horvath from killing_ you_," Mal pointed out from her place near the door. Doug shot her a dark glare and she wisely didn't continue, raising her hands and plopped down into a chair next to Jay.

"That man..H-horvath...said Morgana told him about you," Jane spoke up quietly. "But...how? I thought Morgana was destroyed. Am I...am I wrong?" she glanced around at the others for a confirmation.

"No," Ben said, standing up and moving to join them. "No, you're not wrong." He folded his arms. "We all thought she was dead as well. Which brings up my next question...if she's _not_ dead, and told this Horvath guy everything, where _is_ she?"

They all looked at one another, but no one seemed to have the answer they were seeking. Mal broke the silence after a few moments. "I think we definitely need to talk to Dopey. And since Doug no longer has his ring," she looked pointedly at him as he sheepishly wrung his hands where the symbol belonged. "He might be the only lead we have. But, for now, I think we should get some shut-eye. So, let's go home, and we'll meet back up tomorrow and go from there. Yeah?"

"I agree that we need to talk to Dopey," Evie whispered. "But...I know I for one can't go anywhere. Not after all of this. At least tonight...or this morning...what time is it anyway?"

"Two in the morning," Jay answered. "And I'm with you."

"Me too," Carlos agreed. "And, besides, I don't really think any of us are going to get much sleep anyway. Here or at home. So, it might just be better to stay here. Safety in numbers and all."

"I'll take Jane home," Lonnie volunteered. "And, maybe that way, we can ask Fairy Godmother if she has any ideas."

"Well, Harry and I can see if anyone on the Isle has seen anything suspicious," Uma offered. "We'll let you know what we find. Come on, Harry." With that, they left, and now only the six remained.

"Ben?" Mal questioned. "Is this okay with you?"

"Yes! Yes, of course!" Ben agreed, nodding quickly. His eyes were still wide and slightly fearful. He kept shooting nervous looks toward the magically-mended door as though expecting another of Morgana's thugs (or Morgana herself) to suddenly burst in. "I'll...just...go get some rooms ready." He turned and hurried out of the room, seeming like he couldn't get out of there quick enough.

"I'll...stay here..." Doug whispered, sinking further into the couch. He winced as he tried to move his arm.

Evie, dropping her irritated mood, came over, and made him hold out his arm for her. "Does this hurt?" she questioned, moving it around in small circles. Doug looked over at her and nodded. "How about now?"

"No," he answered, pulling it back with another wince. "I'm fine._ Really_. You don't have to baby me."

Evie frowned and sat back, crossing her arms. "_Oh?_" she said archly, raising an eyebrow pointedly. "I'm _sorry_, but _who _was it who almost_ died_? I don't think you're in much of a position to protest. Now, _come on_, help me out here." She reached out to the stand next to her and selected a few random objects. Doug watched her in confusion as she hastily created a make-shift immobilizer for his arm.

"There," Evie announced, sitting back and admiring her work. "All done."

"Evie?" Doug whispered, focusing his gaze on the immobilizer. "Did you just make a cast...out of two pieces of wood and...gauze?" Evie smiled smugly. He took that to mean yes. "_Nice."_

"I learned from the best," Evie replied warmly. "Now, come on," she added, nudging him hopefully in the shoulder. "Don't think I don't see it. What's bothering you? And...please...be honest."

Doug flicked his gaze upward, silently gesturing to the others.

Jay got the message. "Right," he said, clapping his hands and standing up straighter. "I'm sure Ben could use some help with those rooms. Right guys? Come on." He herded them out the room, giving Evie a thumbs-up as he closed the door behind him.

Doug waited for a moment to make sure they were really gone, and then he sighed and pulled a small leather journal from his back pocket and handed it to Evie. "Here," he mumbled. "I...think...I've found m-my mom's...journal."

Evie gasped. "_Really_?" She scooted closer so they both could read it. Doug glanced over at her, giving a small smile, before turning his attention back to the book as he began to read.

_"It's winter now. A year since Beast decreed that all villains were to be imprisoned on the Isle. Nine months since I escaped from that magic-less world and took refuge in the forest and married that dwarf. I know the little beast is coming. And I fear the legend will be fulfilled with him. But it's not time. Not yet. My plan is not ready, not complete. I need more time. But I have no time. We're going to name him Doug. _ _Dopey's_ _ idea. He seems to think it's appropriate for a dwarf...even if the child will only be half so._

_My magic is already waning. I can't tell them who I really am. It's not time. I need to prove that the legend can be _ _stopped...or_ _ at least postponed. I don't know how much longer I can keep it from them. Grumpy already suspects me. I can only hope that, when they do find out, I'll be able to outwit them once more._

_The time is coming. The war is coming. Destiny can be altered. It can be rewritten. Sometimes, it just needs a forceful shove in the right direction. But, until then, I must keep this ruse up. For as long as it takes. ~Morgan._

"Morgan," Doug whispered as Evie finished reading. "My mom's name is Morgan." His voice shook and tears filled his eyes. "Evie, do you know what this means?" He twisted toward her hopefully. "We have a lead! We can find her now!" He beamed excitedly as he started to stand up. "I have to show the others!"

Evie, on the other hand, was not so convinced. "Hold on," she admonished, grabbing him by the shirt and pulling him back down. "I'm not so sure it's as simple as that. Let me cross reference the latest census notes and see if I can find a last known address or something...else...to go on. All right?" She hated to burst his bubble, but she didn't feel his mother would be _that_ easy to find.

To her surprise, Doug only nodded, lay back, and closed his eyes. "In that case, I'm gonna get some shut eye. For_ some strange reason_, I have this _splitting _headache."

Evie chuckled as she stood up and threw him the aspirin bottle Carlos and Ben had previously been using. "You're a dork," she teased.

Doug only smirked and waved her away. Evie went back to her desk and sat back down thoughtfully, pulling a slim blue laptop from her backpack and bringing up a new tab as she began her search. "You know," she went on, turning once more to face her boyfriend. "We could always just--" she stopped, hearing a gentle snoring. She smiled and, grabbing a blanket from the back of the couch, threw it over him gently. "'Night, Doug," she whispered as she went back to work.

* * *

_"Doug."_

His dreams were filled with darkness and fear. He was drowning in it. He couldn't escape. It was constricting him, pressing on from all sides. It was going to devour him. He cried out for help. For his friends to save him. But there was no response. He was all alone.

_"Doug..."_

The voice was pleading, desperate. He heard it so clearly. It was almost burning into his soul, forcing him forward through the pitch black nothingness. His heart thudded painfully against his rib cage and every nerve of his being told him it had to be a trap. But still...there was no doubt...it was _her_. "Mom?"

_"Doug...please hurry. I can't...can't hold on..."_

"Mom!" He began to run. "Mom, I'm coming!" He struggled through the darkness, tearing away the sticky cobwebs of the shadows and fears as he went. "_Mom_!" Silence filled the shadows. He slowed, confused. "Mom?"

_"Over here..."_

He heard her voice near his ear. He turned, alarmed, and squinted, seeing nothing. "Mom?"

_"Here...Doug...here."_

"Where are you?" he cried in anguish, waving a hand before his face. Lightning flickered in the heavens as he moved cautiously forward. He caught a glimpse of his hand in the flash, and then he screamed. Blood. Blood everywhere. Covering his palms, streaming over his hands. But it wasn't his. He staggered back, gagging hoarsely.

A cruel laugh flooded the darkness. And then, he could see it. Auradon. In ruins. Reduced to nothing but ashes. He was standing in the heart of it and, no matter where he looked, he saw nothing but destruction. The once flourishing land had been reduced to nothing more to charred cinders.

_"This is your fate, Doug..."_

The voice had changed tremendously. No longer was it the gentle, assuring voice. Now...it had grown hard and hateful. Doug closed his eyes, inhaling deeply, trying to force back the onslaught of panic. This wasn't real. It couldn't be real.

_"You can't escape it."_

_"No!" _he screamed, falling back and covering his ears frantically. "No! It's not true! You're _lying_!"

_"Just give in. You're not strong enough to resist..." _The tone grew harsher. He felt it boring straight into his head._ "Give __in...it's__ who you are...this is your destiny..."_

"NO!" Fire seemed to erupt through his body. A sonic wave of energy exploded around him and he dropped to one knee, gasping.

_"Such anger...such power...you are the one. The one who will reshape this world, and there is no one who could stop you!"_

"That's not who I am!"

_"Are you sure about that?"_ Instantly, images came to his head. The way he'd acted to Evie when she'd only been trying to help, distancing himself from the others, they came flooding back like a whirlwind. _"Face it...you're the chosen one. You will be the one to bring the world to its knees. The destruction of Auradon will be the final step to crush heroes once and for all."_

_"And it all begins tonight."_

He snapped awake with a yelp. His body lurched, and was momentarily suspended in midair before he hit the ground with a painful thud. He groaned, flopping around to free himself from the entrapment of blankets. Once his hands were free, he struggled to sit up and fix his askew glasses. He spotted a blob of blue and realized that Evie had fallen asleep at the desk, her computer still up and running.

Quietly, he stood up and went over to close the screen gingerly, as not to wake her. However, something caught his eye. Flickering on the screen near the top, a location and an address. _She found something_, he realized with a jolt. Carefully, he pried the device from underneath her arm and brought it up to scan the page.

Cold dread settled in as he realized the location of the address. There was no place like it in Auradon. There was only one place it could be, and he knew where he had to go.

He was going back to the Isle of the Lost.


	11. Monster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have another song, courtesy of yours truly XD. Enjoy!

**Time** **until** **Doomsday**: **5****5** **hours**

"WHAT DO YOU _MEAN_ 'HE'S GONE'?!"

There were many unpleasant things to waken to early in the morning. Spiderwebs dangling over your head, ants or beetles crawling through your bed, a nightmare. But there was nothing, Jay decided, as absolutely horrid as being jerked out of a pleasant dream of Journey and pizza by a certain bluenette's overly loud voice at seven-thirty in the morning. Especially when he had_ just managed _to drift off.

Groaning, he drug himself out of bed and, rubbing his eyes tiredly, opened his door. Down the hall, he heard another door open and a cascade of golden light flood the corridor as Carlos stuck his head out. "What's all the ruckus?" he moaned.

"Don't know," Jay answered, disappearing back inside for a moment to tie up his hair before reemerging into the hall once more. "But I have the feeling we're about to find out." Even as he spoke, the whirlwind of blue came flying down the hall. Her dark eyes flashed dangerously and that stopped whatever Jay was considering saying. "Evie?" he questioned.

"Come on! _Come on_!" Evie cried. As she ran by, she grabbed Jay by the arm and yanked him after her. Carlos yelped, jumping back and raising his hands, showing Evie he was alert and ready for action and did not need to be drug around roughly to prove it.

"Evie, what's wrong?" Jay gasped as he and Carlos hurriedly ran after her. "What's you in such a hurry? Someone steal your favorite dress, or something?" He chuckled at his joke but Evie was far from amused. In fact, she seemed downright panicked.

_So, not a dress then?_

"Doug's gone!" Evie answered as they rounded the bend as she rounded the bend and began to beat furiously on Mal's door. "Mal! Mal! Wake up! _Wake up_! I need your magic!" For a moment, nothing happened and Evie continued to pound. "Mal! Mal! Please! Get up! I need--" She stopped as the door flew open to reveal a half-asleep, highly annoyed Mal.

"_What_?"

"Doug's gone!" Evie repeated, nearly in tears. "I think he ran away! Mal, _please_, use your magic! Find him!"

Mal's eyes widened and she was suddenly wide awake. Without a word, she ducked back into her room and began flipping through the pages of her spell book. Evie pushed open the door and hurried inside without an invitation, pulling Carlos and Jay after her. Mal's eyes flashed as she closed them and she took a deep breath. The others glanced at each other, waiting quietly. After a moment, Mal gave a gasp and stumbled back, her eyes flying open as she caught herself against her dresser.

Evie frowned, knowing the expression on her face far too well. "Mal? What is it? Did you find him?"

Mal turned to face her worriedly. "I did," she whispered, coming over to take Evie's hands. The bluenette frowned, possibly realizing that bad news was about to follow. "E...Doug's on the Isle. His magic...it's growing stronger. He's...he's trying to block me out."

Evie blinked, not fully comprehending what she was hearing. She stared, and for a moment, she looked as if she didn't really believe it. And then she snapped. "_WHAT_?" She seemed a bit faint and Jay moved hastily to catch her in case she fainted. "Mal! _Why_? Why would he do this? He has to know how dangerous it is there!" She seemed to loose it. Her cool, her control, _gone_, just like that.

Jay opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by the hasty footsteps and he, along with the others, turned just as Ben stuck his head through the door. "Hey," the king said quietly. "I think I found something." He gestured for them to follow him. They did so and he hastily lead them back down the hall to the living room. "So...I found his laptop," he explained as they went. "And since Doug keeps _everything _on his computer--"

"Yeah," Evie said, taking a deep breath and folding her arms. "I did warn him about that, actually."

"Anyway," Ben went on. "I may have taken a glance at it...to see if it could give any clues. And, well, I'll just show you." He sat down at the table and, as the others piled around, he opened the device and typed in the four letter password.

"Hey, Ben?" Carlos questioned, leaning over his shoulder as the screen flickered to life. "How come you know Doug's password?"

"What? Oh..." Ben grinned sheepishly. "It wasn't really that hard to guess." He looked pointedly at Evie who blushed slightly. "_Oh_!" he added as several tabs appeared. "Here. Evie, I think this might interest you." He handed it back to her and she took it with a frown.

Jay leaned against her shoulder curiously, noticing her grimace get even deeper as she scanned the page. Composition, English, physics, medieval history... "Are these...Doug's grades?" he questioned. But they couldn't be, he corrected himself almost immediately, reading the course results: D. D. C-. F.

Evie's eyes began to moisten. "He was failing his classes," she whispered. "_All_ of them." She handed the laptop off to Mal.

"Wait...hold up..." Carlos interjected. "You're saying_ Doug _was flunking? Do you have any idea how _utterly ridiculous_ that sounds?" He chuckled and gazed around at the others. No one was laughing.

Evie sunk into a chair, staring firmly at the wooden table before her. "I should have seen this," she whispered. "I should have recognized the signs. I knew he had been distant these past few weeks. But I never thought..." she trailed off here.

Ben put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "There's more," he said gently. "If...if you think you can handle it." She looked up and nodded, so he took the laptop back from Mal and brought up another tab, gesturing for the others to join him. "A recent search. To some place called Crook's--"

"Crook's Alley," Evie interrupted solemnly. "I can't believe he'd do it."

"Do what?" Mal questioned, coming to sit beside her. "E, what is it?"

"I...I told him I'd try to find his mom," Evie answered quietly. "And then we'd tell you all in the morning. I must have fallen asleep and he saw the address and decided to go on his own. I should never have left it in the open. Stupid! Stupid! _Stupid!" _She buried her head in her arms and began to weep.

"All right," Mal said determinedly, gazing around at the others. "Then we all know where we need to go. Get your things. We leave in an hour."

"We can take the limo," Ben offered.

Mal nodded. "All right."

"Let's just hope Doug didn't think to steal it," Jay said jokingly. The others rolled their eyes and set off to pack. Doug was smart. There was _no way _he'd be dumb enough to steal the king's limo.

***

"Well, that's..._unexpected_."

"Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding."

"You were saying, Jay?" The final comment came from Mal as the purplette stepped forward into the empty space where the large black vehicle belonged. She then spun on her heels and threw her hands into the air. "Well, _now_ what? No car...no Isle. We're stuck." She leaned against the wall thoughtfully. The others looked down, thinking hard.

"Well...that's not necessarily...accurate," Evie argued, raising her hand tentatively into the air. "We...haven't...used the limo _every time_ we went to the Isle."

"Yeah, but Hook and his crew wrecked our bikes," Carlos pointed out.

"So?" Evie questioned. "Mal can just...enchant something else. Can't you, Mal?" She turned hopefully to her best friend.

"Yeah, sure," Mal said with a wave of her hand. "Easy peasy. But first, we'd need something to enchant."

"_Oh_!" Ben said, leaping into action now. "I've got it! Hang on!" With that, he turned and hurried off, leaving the VKs standing there, confused. "Jay! Carlos!" he called a few moments later from a side room. "Come help me with this!"

"On it!" Jay whooped, spinning around and taking out the door.

"Yes, sir," Carlos added, following quickly.

Evie and Mal shared a confused look. Mal shrugged. There was a grunt from one of the guys and a moment later, the three of them pushed an old rusty car into the garage. "Uh...Ben?" Evie questioned. "Is this...yours?"

"Yup," Ben answered. "It was my dad's."

"Really? When?" Mal chuckled. "Before he was turned into a beast?"

Ben smirked. "Fair enough. Do you think you can get it running?"

"Do I_ look_ like a jumper-cable to you?"

"Oh for..._move over_," Evie groaned, shoving Mal lightly, grabbing a wrench off of the work bench and sliding underneath the car. The others stared, stunned that she would even touch the ground, let alone risk oil getting on her handmade outfit. Doug's absence was_ really _effecting her. "A spark plug's loose," she announced a moment later. "I think I can adjust it. Just give me a moment to--" There was a roar as the engine puttered to life. "Viola!" she announced, sliding back out now, taking Carlos' hand and pulling herself to her feet. "That should do it." She stepped back to admire her work.

"Whoa...Evie..." Mal couldn't even find the words to formulate her thoughts. "I had no idea you knew how to do that."

Evie flashed her a smile. "I've been learning. Now, come on. Let's go."

***

He felt their curious and slightly fearful gazes on him as he struggled through the crowded streets. He tried to keep his head down but still, they would not stop staring at him. He dug his hands further into his pockets, feeling them tingling painfully. He inhaled deeply, struggling to suppress the heat and anger rushing through his body.

He had to stay in control.

It wasn't safe.

_He_ wasn't safe. He just wanted to find his mother and then get out of there. No interruptions. No detours. Answers. Nothing more.

A group of laughing children ran up to him. They couldn't have been more than five or six. They surrounded him, staring up at him, screaming and prodding at his nice clothes. He winced, flinching back away from them. "Go away," he mumbled, trying to shoo them away without taking his hands from his pockets. "Go on. Go home."

They ignored him and pressed in closer.

"_Please_," he begged them. "Get away from me." He started to walk faster. They clung to him like leeches, refusing to let go. "Go back to your par--" A swell of pain shot through his head. He staggered. The children looked up at him with concerned eyes. "_Go_!" he gasped. Without thinking, he took his hands from his pockets to shove the kids away.

One screamed.

Doug lurched back, horrified, as the little boy he'd touched fell to the ground, shrieking in pain, smoke rising from his arm. The others surrounded him. Doug backed away with wide-eyes, terrified as the crowd seemed to realize something was wrong. He waited only a moment until he was sure the child would be cared for.

And then he turned and ran for it.

The pain intensified. He tried to put his hands back in his pockets but he could feel them burning through his pants. He gave up and just focused on running harder. He left the town behind him and found himself jogging through a newly-budding forest.

The hurt grew so strong. He fell to his knees, breaking into full-blown weeps. As his hands met the grass, the vegetation underneath him and all around him withered and died. _What have I done? What. Have. I. _Done_?_

He decided to do something he'd never had the courage to do before. Evie had once told him that music was the best way to let out emotions. As drum major, he knew it to be true. So, taking a deep, raspy breath, he began to sing quietly to himself.

** _I never wanted to be one of the princes,_ **

** _I never cared much for a throne._ **

** _But I never saw myself as dangerous,_ **

** _Or downright evil to the bone._ **

** _Yeah, I never wanted this burden._ **

** _Everything inside of me is hurting._ **

** _I'm out of control now._ **

** _Feel the rush, feel the fear, feel the adrenaline._ **

  
** _I_ ** ** _t's coming alive, can you feel it rising?_ **

** _I know who I am. I can't keep a secret._ **

** _There's a darkness inside of me,_ **

** _And it's only growing stronger._ **

** _Yeah, I'm a monster._ **

** _Look out! Back off! Get away from me!_ **

** _I'm not safe, why can't you see?_ **

** _This fairytale's gone all wrong,_ **

** _In the night is where I belong._ **

He gasped as the fire in his hands grew more intense. He cautiously snapped his fingers. Immediately, a nearby tree burst into flames, sending a panicked flock of birds to the air.

** _It's like everything is falling apart,_ **

** _And I fear this is only the start._ **

** _'Cause I tried so hard to make it,,_ **

** _I tried so hard to play my part._ **

** _But I don't wanna play this game,_ **

** _Take it up, flip it, change the name,_ **

** _It's still the same, and I'm the one to blame..._ **

** _It's coming alive, can you feel it rising?_ **

** _I know who I am. I can't keep a secret._ **

** _There's a darkness inside of me,_ **

** _And it's only growing stronger._ **

** _Yeah, I'm a monster._ **

** _Look out! Back off! Get away from me!_ **

** _I'm not safe, I'll hurt you, why can't you see?_ **

** _This fairytale's gone all wrong,_ **

** _In the night is where I belong._ **

** _STOP!_ **

His scream flooded the still forest. The flames around him intensified, raging out of control now. The surge of energy exploded from his body and he fell forward, gasping breathlessly.

** _Can you hear it?_ **

** _The beast inside of me,_ **

** _Scratching, tearing me apart,_ **

** _Desperate to break free._ **

** _'Cause it's a monster,_ **

** _And it's settled in my heart._ **

** _'Cause I'm a monster,_ **

** _And it's only getting stronger._ **

** _And they all fear me,_ **

** _'Cause I'm the beast without a beauty._ **

** _I'm a monster,_ **

** _And the rage is only getting stronger..._ **

His voice broke and he returned to a whisper once more.

** _I'm the one they have to fear._ **

** _And I can't even shed a tear._ **

** _And it's myself I really fear._ **

** _T_ ** ** _ell me..._ **

** _Can you feel it?_ **

** _The war is coming,_ **

** _And the end is drawing near..._ **

** _And your magic can't save me now._ **

** _'Cause the night is where I belong._ **

He slowly lifted his head, feeling the flames blazing through the trees around him. His eyes widened as he realized what he'd done. "No!" he screamed, frantically scrambling to his feet. "NO! NO! NO! _STOP_!" He searched frantically for something to douse the fire. "Help!" he shrieked. "FIRE! Someone! Help! _Please_! Water...water...I need water!" He turned circles, praying desperately for a stream or a creek to suddenly materialize out of nonexistence.

Then, suddenly, without warning, a icy wind whooshed through the hollow. There was a crackle and a pop and the flames were immediately extinguished. Doug froze, confused, shivering slightly as the pain in his hands faded to a dull numb.

And then, realizing what must have happened, he slowly, guiltily, turned on the balls of his feet, to give a weak greeting to the figure standing, arms crossed, on the hillside before him.

"Hi...Mal." 


	12. A Fiery Dilemma

**Time until Doomsday: 45 hours**

Coughing and fanning away the smoke, Evie scrambled onto the hill behind Mal. She gasped and her hands flew over her mouth as she found her boyfriend standing in the ring of fire below, his head hung in shame and bitterness. Even from where she stood, she could see the fire flickering in his hands. It was obvious what had happened. They had seen the huddled crowd in the village. The only question was..._why_?

"Doug!" she cried, taking off down the hill toward him. "What have you done? How did you--" As she opened her arms for a hug, he ducked back away hastily, stuffing his hands into his pockets, ignoring the faint sizzling sounds as he did so. Evie paused, just feet from him. "_Doug_?" 

He shook his head, keeping his gaze down. He wouldn't look at her. The guilt was written all over his face. "No..." he breathed. "Stay back. _Please_. Keep away from me. I'm not in control. I'll...I'll hurt you." He tried to back away further but Evie refused to let him go so easily and she took a step toward him at the same time. "Evie, _come on_, please don't do this--"

"Give me your hands," Evie ordered, paying no attention to his feeble pleas. "Let me help you." She held out her hands, a gesture of trust that was not lost on Doug.

He stared at her, much like a cornered animal might stare at a hunter. Terror, pain, and heartache were all evident in his eyes. She really wanted to help him. He wasn't himself. She had to figure out to fix that. And to start, she needed to dial down the intense level of power emitting from him. 

"Evie..._please._.."

"_Doug_." Evie's smile fell and she stared firmly at him. "Give. Me. Your. Hands." 

He obeyed, slowly showing his quivering hands. Evie took them in her own, squeezing tightly. A faint sizzling could be heard. Immediately, Doug attempted to yank away. Evie ignored the pain and gripped him tighter, never taking her eyes off of his. She spotted the steam rising between them and knew her hands must have become blistered. She couldn't feel them anymore.

To her surprise, Doug was the first to react, pulling back and looking at her fingers. Guilt was written all over his expression as he sees the condition she was in and the damage he'd caused. "I'm...I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I...I didn't mean for this to...to..."

"It's not your fault," Evie tried to reassure him, but he just continued to back away with an expression of horror. Evie stared after him pleadingly as the others ran down the hill to join them. "Doug?"

He looked like he wanted to say something else but Mal cut him off, tossing him a pair of dark gloves. "Use those," she instructed. "They're flame-resistant. They should help."

He looked at her as he began to pull them on, watching in a state of relief as the hissing and popping sounds died to a minimum. "T-thank you."

Mal shrugged off his apology. "Don't thank me. Just try and explain why you thought it'd be a good idea to run away." 

Doug blinked. He opened his mouth to answer and then stopped, shame etched on all of his features. His eyes met Evie's and remained there as he began to speak. "I...I didn't...think," he said finally. "I...I thought I could do it...by myself. That...it'd be better if I didn't make all of you get involved as well. It...it was stupid. I know. And I'm sorry." He lowered his gaze sheepishly. 

"Yes," Mal snapped without a shred of remorse. "It was."

"But most importantly," Evie said with a meaningful glare toward her friend. "We're just glad you're safe."

"Yes," Mal said, eyes widening as she realized her mistake. "Yes, of course." 

Evie rolled her eyes but went back to focusing on Doug. "But we're here now. So, how can we help?"

"Um...if I may?" Carlos interrupted, leaning between them with a raised hand. "Since we're already here, why don't we go find that address and see if Doug's mom left anything there? Crook's Alley? Right? Guys, come on." Slapping Ben and Jay on the backs, he turned and started back up the hill, pulling them along behind him.

"Oh...but..." Doug began.

"Come on," Evie told him, taking his hand, not noticing his flinch, and drug him after her. "We aren't too far away. Assuming no one tries to stop us, we can be there in fifteen minutes, easily."

"Okay..." Doug trailed off. He heard a twig snap nearby in the trees and he frowned, feeling the off sensation that they were being watched. There was a flash of red and the whoever the figure was, vanished.

"It's this way," Jay called, taking the lead as they rounded a bend and remerged into the town. "Follow me." 

They wove their way through town. Doug kept his head down and Evie steered him through the massive crowds with a firm hand on his elbow. Mal did the same on his other side. Both girls tried to keep their faces impassive as not to draw unwanted attention to themselves. Not that it seemed to be working. Doug felt curious gazes sweep over them everywhere. He supposed it had to have been the VKs. Most everyone knew of their work to make amends with the Isle. They'd become heroes and role models to many. 

They turned a corner and Doug immediately felt his feet stop and freeze midstep. He stared down the long, dark, and twisting alleyway and gulped, watching as the others started down it as though it were nothing. Carlos was the first to notice that the dwarf wasn't following. "Doug?" he questioned, pausing and turning back to face him. "You good, dude?"

Doug shook himself out of whatever daydream he felt inching into his head. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." With that, he hurried after them, taking up his place between Evie and Mal once more, noticing the several sidelong looks they were giving each other, as though knowing more than they were letting on to. 

They walked until they came to the final house on the block, a dismal, dark, clearly abandoned structure. Doug shuddered as Mal started toward the door first, and then, once she gave the all clear, Evie hurried over to begin picking the lock. Jay and Ben took up defensive positions behind him, as though expecting something or someone to come leaping out of the shadows without warning. 

There was a click and a hiss of victory from Evie as the door slowly creaked open. Gesturing to the others, the bluenette took the lead, disappearing into the darkness almost immediately. Ben, Carlos, Jay, and Mal were right behind her, leaving Doug standing alone on the dark alley. He swallowed back his fear. As much as he didn't want to enter the house, he didn't want to be left alone in the creepy part of the Isle either. 

"Guys! Wait for me!" 

He leaped up the steps three at a time, throwing himself through the front door and nearly smashing into Carlos as the group stood in uncomfortable silence, staring around at the eerie living room. There were signs of witchcraft everywhere. From the sketched stars on the ceiling, to what looked like a half-empty cauldron near the sofa, there was no doubt about it. Doug's mother had been a witch. 

"Whoa..." Jay breathed. "This place is..."

"Terrifying?" Evie suggested.

"Eerie?" Ben added.

"Dangerous?" Doug threw his two cents in.

"All of the above?" Carlos said as he moved toward the coffee table. "Hey, guys?" he added, snatching up a piece of paper and waving it in front of their faces. "Check this out. It looks like some kind of ancient writing." Mal held out her hand and he passed it to her.

Doug noticed the frown on the purplette's face increase as she scanned the page. "It's the Legend of the Lost," she explained. "But...there's...writing on it. I can't quite make it out. It's too dark in here. Here, E?" she handed it to the girl. "Put that in your bag," she instructed. "And we'll look at it later." Evie nodded and obeyed while Mal went on searching the room. She paused near the bottom of the steps and, after a moment of silence, spoke again. "Doug. Come over here for a minute."

He obeyed, ducking under a rather low-hanging chandelier and popping back up beside her. "Yes?"

"Is it just me...or is there some kind of strange aura coming from upstairs?"

Doug paused, reaching out with his magic to investigate his surroundings. "Yes," he decided after a moment. "I think so. Should we...?"

Mal nodded. "Everyone," she spoke up, catching their attentions. "Stay here and keep searching. We're going upstairs." They nodded and kept looking. Mal took the lead up the stairs. "Stay close," she instructed Doug as he quickly moved after her. They froze at a rather creeky board and looked at each other, half expecting something to appear. 

Nothing happened.

Doug let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. 

"Nothing to worry about," Mal said confidently. "Just an old staircase. Come on." With that, she started off again. 

Another creaky stair near the top caused Doug to yelp and reach for Mal's arm. The purplette winced at the vice-grip but said nothing. 

They reached the top and Mal led them toward the sole room on the floor. This, Doug found a bit odd. Why have a second floor if there was only one room? Mal didn't seem too bothered by it, however, so he didn't think about it again. They walked a little ways, and then Mal opened the door, letting it swing back away from them.

"This is it," she breathed as they stepped inside. It was a child's playroom, Doug supposed. If one could really call it that. There was a small bed, a few odd shapes that he assumed were toys, and constellations were painted all across the roof. "This is where you lived."

"This...this is my home?" Doug's voice was barely more than a whisper. He went over to the tiny desk and began to investigate. "I'm...from the Isle?"

"It would seem so," Mal agreed, coming over to stand next to him. "Though how you ended up in Auradon remains a mystery."

"Yeah..." 

After a few minutes of investigating, Doug turned to face Mal once more. "All right," he said slowly. "She's not here. Let's go see if the others had any better luck." He started toward the door, reaching out to open it further.

And it slammed shut by itself. 

Doug leaped back with a yell, just as a cold laugh flooded through the room. There was a flash of lightning, and, as the two teens turned, a familiar cloud of dark smoke formed in the room before them. Mal instantly stepped forward to shield Doug, even before the redheaded witch became visible through the smog. 

"Well, well, well," Morgana hissed, her voice icy and a bit amused. "Look what we have here. The NeoMerlin. In my own house. What a truly..._unexpected_...surprise. Looking for something?" Having finished materializing completely, she held up his Dragon Ring with a smug smirk. 

"Give it back!" Mal snapped.

Meanwhile, Doug's mind was still processing what the witch had just said. "Wait..._your_ house? But...that would mean..." he trailed off as the pieces of the puzzle began to come together to form a horrid image.

Morgana's smirk grew even wider. "I can see your mind whirling to fit it all together, so allow me to help." She threw her arms out wide in a gesture of triumph. "This is _my _home. This is _my_ Dragon Ring."

"No..." Doug breathed, pulling back from Mal as the realization crashed over him. He fell against the wall, feeling like his entire world was crumbling around him. 

"_Yes_," the witch sneered. 

"What are you saying?" Mal demanded, still not seeming to grasp what was happening.

"I'm _saying_," Morgana hissed, never taking her eyes off of Doug. "It's been a long time. Hello, son."


	13. Sticks, Stones, and Breaking Bones

_No. No. No no no no no no no no no no no no no!_

_Son. _Even the way she said it sent chills running through his body. There was no way that this...this...witch...could be his mother! She was _Morgana_, for heaven's sake!_ Morgana_! As in, the-most-dangerous-witch-to-ever-walk-the-face-of-earth-and-much-too-busy-trying-to-destroy-Auradon-and-raise-an-army-of-the-dead-to-settle-down-and-have-a-son Morgana. It didn't make sense. It couldn't. Because it had to be another lie. Another trick. 

But why then did her expression seem...genuinely disappointed?

Could it be true after all? Could the big man upstairs have actually been so ironic in making Doug, Morgana's son, the NeoMerlin, and make him face off against his mother? The chances of that were so astronomically high that he could barely hold back the fit of laughter. 

Mal didn't share his sentiment, however. "He's no son of yours," she spat, stepping even further in front of him, using her body as a shield between the sorceress and Doug. "And you can't honestly think we'd believe you, do you? You have lied, manipulated, and tried to kill us on multiple occasions. And not once, _not once_, did you have even a shred of remorse for his well-being. Those are not the actions of a mother. Those are the actions of a heartless_ witch_." 

Morgana hissed, sounding extremely snake-like. Then, without warning, she lifted the Dragon Ring toward the purplette, hissing some kind of curse. The green jewel at the end began to glow threateningly.

Doug knew, from all of his studying, what was going to follow this action. "Look out!" he yelled, hooking an arm around Mal's waist and dragging her to the floor as a shot of green fire whistled past and caused a shelf of books to explode. As soon as the danger was past, he flipped himself over and scrambled to his feet, holding out an arm to protect Mal. A most interesting turn of events. "That's _enough_," he snarled, sounding very different than the quiet geeky dwarf that he normally was. This seemed to spark Morgana's interest, but the boy was paying no attention to her.

"I _don't care_ if you are my mother," he went on, the lie tasting vile on his tongue. He wanted so badly to tell the truth. That he'd been hoping for a mom who cared for him, who loved him, and, quite frankly, at least didn't want to_ kill _him every time they met. Was that too much to ask for? _Seriously_? "I don't care what you think of me. All I care is that I'm supposed to defend Auradon. And if you continue to wreak havoc, then I will have no other option than to stop you." He shoved his glasses further up on his nose and stood up straighter on the tips of his toes, trying to come off as braver than he felt. 

Morgana cackled. "You're_ kidding_! You're kidding, right? You," she pointed a finger at him. "You are nothing_. Nothing _without this ring." She held it up in his face tauntingly. 

Doug felt the red pulse through his brain. "Give it to me." He held out his hand in what he thought to be a demanding gesture. 

"Ah...no no no," Morgana chuckled, drawing it back and out of the dwarf's reach. "Don't be so _hasty_. Don't you want to catch up? Spend some time getting to know your mom?" She smirked wickedly and threw her arms out wide as though expecting a hug. 

Doug shrunk back disgustedly. "_No_." With that, he reached out again, this time with a determined glare. "Ring! To me!" 

"NO!" Morgana screamed as the ring wriggled free from her grasp and shot toward Doug at a breakneck speed. 

Doug reached out to catch it in one fell swoop.

He missed.

The ring hit the ground with a clatter and rolled underneath the desk. "Oh, come _on_..." 

"_Doug_!" Mal hissed in annoyance as she dove after the ring, leaving the boy to deal with the sorceress. 

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Doug cried, busy trying to rip off his gloves. "It's just...it's a lot of pressure and I can't really handle stress which is probably not good considering I am supposed to be this great hero and I don't know how in the world to go about it and that's not helping my stress and--"

"_Doug_!" Mal sat up quickly and whammed her head against the top of the desk. She emerged, hissing in pain. "_Please_. Just...stop talking." Her eyes drifted to Morgana who was standing there, not making even the tiniest attempt to move toward them and take the ring back. Doug noticed this too and, immediately became suspicious. 

"Here." There was movement near him and he turned as Mal recovered the ring and tossed it to him. This time, he caught it and shoved it back on his finger where it belonged. 

"All right," Doug said, taking a deep breath as he held up the ring which was, surprisingly, not melting to liquid in his hands. "Look," he added, twisting back to face his mother. "I don't know what game you think you are playing here. But it's going to stop. Right here. Right now."

Morgana smirked.

"You're going to stay here," Doug went on, feigning a control-like tone. "And you're not going to cause any more trouble." He didn't like the way she was looking at him. It was almost as if she knew she'd won, like she was somehow holding all of the cards, though Doug seemed to have the upper hand at the moment.

"Oh, really?" Morgana raised an amused eyebrow. "And who's going to make me? _You_?" As she spoke, there was the sound of several running footsteps and the others came piling through the door. They came to a screeching halt when they saw Morgana having a face-off against Doug. Both were poised, ready to strike. But it was obvious the sorceress would be stronger. "You can't even control your powers," the woman went on, gesturing dismissively toward Doug's hands as the dwarf tried to wipe his sweaty palms on his pants only to leave a singe mark on them. He hastily yanked the gloves back on and covered the ring protectively. 

"Doug?" Evie whispered, her eyes fixed on Morgana. "Mal? What's going on?"

No one answered her. 

"Run back to your little kingdom," Morgana went on in a hiss. "See if anyone accepts you now. The son of a witch." She cackled. "Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Well, I have a world to wreak havoc on. I'll see all you fools later. Or not." With that, she disappeared into a cloud of smoke and shot out the window into the night. 

"Doug!" Evie called, noticing how unsteady Doug was on his feet and hurrying to catch him. Ben did the same for Mal who seemed a bit shaken, but for the most part, okay. 

"Doug."

He was drawn back into reality by Evie's sharp remark. He turned his head toward her voice and found himself staring into her dark brown eyes. "Evie?" he said in a weak whisper. He felt his knees knocking and it was only then that he realized how truly afraid he had been. Without meaning to, he sunk into Evie's arms for a desperate hug. He needed her to reassure him. To tell him that he was alright and that everything would be okay.

Which was why he was so frightened when the words never came out of her mouth. 

"Doug," Evie said once more. His name. Just his name and nothing more. It would have been reassuring had the way she said it not sounded wary and hurt. She looked down at him with pity, her eyes taking in his quaking form from his extremely thick coat to his magic-shielding gloves, down to his mismatched-striped socks. He felt her hand on his shoulder. Gentle, yet, indecisive all at once. He blinked, confused, as she went on. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Doug frowned. "Tell you? Tell you _what_?" 

He felt Evie pry him away from her and he looked up at her, startled by this action. There was something in her eyes. Something that he didn't like the look of_ at all_. "That the woman we're trying to defeat, the one that's trying to destroy the world, is your _mother_."

The harshness of her tone made Doug flinch. "Well," he began in a stammer. "It's not like I knew about it until now and--" 

But Evie wasn't listening. "You're her son," she restated. "You have her magic and everything so there's no denying it. We've seen enough. We saw it with the boy in the town and in the forest. You're _just_ like she is. _Evil_." She turned her back on him abruptly, and, to his despair, he saw the others doing the same. 

"No...Evie..._wait_!" Doug started after them, reaching out to grab Evie's arm and swing her back around. He hesitated right before he touched her, however, and in a state of fear, retracted his hand, hurt cascading over him like a tsunami. "You don't understand! Wait! Guys!" he called as his friends started out of the room, intent on leaving him behind. "I promise I'm not! _Please_! _Wait_!" He rushed after them, but, as he hit the staircase, Mal whipped around and threw out some kind of spell. He walked right into a green force field that propelled him backward into the room.

He could only watch in horror as the five of them exited the building and he was left all alone. _No, no, no! _he screamed at himself. _ What have you done, Doug? What have you done? _Part of him wanted to scream that he hadn't done anything. That the others were simply overreacting and they'd be back at any minute, realizing they'd made a mistake, and they'd all be friends again and everything would go back to normal. But, somewhere in the back of his mind, a faint whisper told him that could never happen. _This is your doing, Doug. This is all your fault._

_After all, what else would anyone expect from the son of a wicked sorceress? _

Doug's back hit the wall and he slid to the floor, curling his knees up against his chest and wrapping his arms around them as he buried his head and began to cry. 

***

Outside, the air over the country grew dark and the crash of the oncoming storm could be heard from everywhere. It wasn't ordinary weather, Beast told himself, as he stood before the castle window, watching the streaks of rain batter against the glass. Every few moments, lightning would split the sky, striking in the oddest of fashions, not at all like ordinary lightning, but sideways, almost as though it had a mind of its own. 

"It's getting worse, isn't it?"

Beast turned sharply, not having heard his wife creep up behind him. But there she stood in her favorite yellow dress, holding a bunch of fabric he could only guess was for Ms. Potts. "Fairy Godmother does not know where all of this," he gestured to the storm. "Could have come from."

"Is it magic?" Belle questioned softly.

Beast nodded. "Yes," he confirmed. "And to be strong enough to overpower the enchantments already in place, whoever is causing this must be extremely talented and _extremely_ powerful." He didn't want to say aloud his worst fears. That a new villain had risen to take Maleficent's place. He didn't want to doubt Ben's plan to open the barrier, but, sometimes, like now for instance, it was very hard not to. 

"Is it Maleficent?" Belle voiced his concern.

"No," Beast assured her. "I already thought of that. She's still a lizard. She's not the one behind this."

"Well, then, who else has this much power and would purposely do this?"

Beast shrugged, at a total loss for words.

At another particularly loud crash of thunder, the doors to the castle flew open. Wind and rain came pouring in, and with it, a familiar figure hunched against the storm. Beast relaxed as he turned and recognized the new arrival. 

The doors were quickly closed behind them and it was only then that the figure would look up at them.

"Beast," Merlin said politely, bowing his head quickly to the former king. "I think it's about time you and I had a conversation."


	14. What Child is He?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas everybody!

"_When_ _the_ _sky_ _falls_, _when_ _it_ _crumbles_, _we_ _will_ _stand_ _tall_ _and_ _face_ _it_ _all_ _together_ _at_ _Skyfall_." ~"Skyfall" by Adele

**Time until Doomsday: 35 hours**

The door flew open with a slam. Maleficent paused, glancing up from her strip of lettuce to see the whirlwind that was her daughter come charging into the room, fury written across her features. Maleficent hissed a breathy chuckle. "So, you figured it out. I thought you might."

"Morgana is Doug's mother!" Mal about yelled. Her eyes were flashing warningly, not that Maleficent was overly afraid of her daughter's temper tantrums. She'd dealt with them for sixteen years. But there was something there, something even the mistress of evil had never seen before and she could barely stop a jump as Mal slammed a fist down on the table. "No more riddles! I'm done playing your stupid game! What is Morgana planning? You know. I _know_ you do."

"My dear, if you think I would _ever_ help that no-good, goody-two-shoes, excuse for a witch, then—"

"_Liar_!" Mal spat.

Maleficent laughed. "All right, so I'm a liar. I am a_ villain_, honey, what were you expecting?"

"Look, I _don't care_ what you think you will gain from helping the villains," Mal snapped, getting angrier by the moment. "But Doug life is in danger! And if he dies, so does Auradon! So, if you have any amount of love of that hard heart of yours, even just a spec, I need you to push it to the front _now_ and _give me something_ _to work with_!" She was clearly not putting up with the deception any longer. She'd reached wit's end, and it was having a negative impact on her. It made Maleficent smile slightly, but also twitch uncomfortably inside.

"_Fine_," Maleficent spat, though she didn't know what evil influence made her do it. Mal sat up, alert, at this unexpected turn of events. "I don't know what Morgana is planning," she warned. "But I do know this: before Beasty locked all the villains on the Isle, Morgana had been trying to raise an army of the dead to help her take over the world. It is possible, and not unlikely, that she may be continuing that mission."

"But the Prime Merlinian defeated her," Mal pointed out. "And wouldn't she need the life force of multiple powerful magicians to even attempt the spell?"

Maleficent shrugged. "Yes, the Prime Merlinian did defeat her. Powerful, indeed. Would have liked to meet him personally, just to offer my congratulations at taming Merlin's power so completely. But with the NeoMerlin...well, let's just say, Morgana may only need _one_."

Mal's blood turned to ice. "Are you saying..." She faltered and her eyes widened in horror. "Morgana doesn't want Doug's magic? She wants his _soul_?" She looked disgusted at the very concept.

Maleficent neither confirmed nor denied it with her impassive expression. "Every parasite needs a host. Besides," she added loftily. "It couldn't just be anyone, or she'd have gone after Merlin years ago. It has to be kin. Blood of blood and all that. And Morgana's only living family—"

"Is Doug," Mal finished, falling back into a chair in alarm. "All this time...and we thought it was just for his magic. It was all too easy. I should have known, should have seen it." She ran a hand through her hair and closed her eyes, concentrating hard. "Now it all makes sense. We'd been spelled and forced to leave Doug behind. That's what Morgana wanted after all, to get him alone. We have to get back to the Isle!" She stood up and whipped out her phone to begin dialing everyone. "We have to get to Doug before--"

A loud crash of thunder shook the rafters, followed by the onslaught of heavy raindrops. Mal paused her typing and frowned at the noises.

"_Too late_," Maleficent cackled.

"What did she do?" Mal demanded, swinging back to face her mother angrily.

"My _dear_, who said anything about this being _Morgana's_ doing?"

Mal opened her mouth to ask what she meant by that, when the door behind her suddenly flung open again and Ben appeared, panting, as though he'd been running for a while. As Mal turned to address him, she noticed the wild glint in his eyes that warned her he was only moment from "beasting". Something had clearly upset him. "Ben," she said quickly. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Mal, it's the Isle." Ben looked over her head at Maleficent who shrugged and disappeared back into her hut. "And I think you need to see this."

Mal frowned but followed him out of the room and way from her reptilian mom. Ben took her hand and led her to the nearest window. "There," he said, pulling his hand out of hers to point off into the distance. Mal squinted through darkness to see thick black clouds swirling over the Isle. Blue and green lightning sparkled and crackled inside. Now, Mal didn't know much about weather oddities, but she was sure she'd never heard of lightning being those colors. _This is magic,_ she realized with a jolt.

"Mal? MAL!"

Carlos and Evie.

Mal and Ben whipped around as their friends came rushing down the corridor. In Evie's hands was Mal's spell book. But it was out of control. It looked a lot like she was struggling to hold it together as the pages themselves squirmed and thrashed. She wore a pained expression, so it was clearly taxing her greatly. "What," Mal questioned, "is _that_?"

"It's out of...control!" Evie yelped as the book threw itself from her hands and hit the floor. Immediately, the cover blew back and the pages flipped at a rapid pace.

"What in the world?" Ben gasped, coming over to join them at this.

"Ben! Stand back!" Mal ordered, throwing out an arm to knock the king back as the book finally settled onto a page near the end and a blue haze began to rise from it. Mal stared, jaw dropped, as small sparks of electricity began to build among the fog. "What is—" she began.

The lightning exploded in a tremendous (and overly flashy manner), knocking all four kids backward onto the floor. This was promptly followed by a surge in the electrical circuit as the power crashed into an overhead light and, suddenly, parts of the roof collapsed onto them and the entire building was cascaded into darkness.

Before she had even fully comprehended what had happened, Mal was aware of the screams of several students behind her. Painfully, she pushed herself up into a sitting position and blinked, bringing a hand to her throbbing head. She twisted her head to the left, recognizing the white of Carlos' hair as he pushed aside the debris and sat up, shaking his head to get rid of the dust and holding out his hand to Evie who took it shakily. He pulled her up and then turned toward Mal with a panicked look.

Mal's face reflected the same. She didn't know what was happening, but she could guess Morgana was somehow behind it. "Is everybody okay?" she questioned as Ben grunted from her right, appearing from the rubble with a quiet growl. He was even closer to become a beast now than he had been before.

"Fine," Evie grumbled, looking over her ruined outfit. There was a pout behind her words but Mal ignored it.

"Ben? Carlos?"

"Alive?" Carlos groaned. "Yes. Okay? Probably not." Even so, he stumbled to his feet and, brushing the dirt off of his shirt, he gazed around. "What happened?"

"I—" Before Mal could finish, the screams grew louder. As she turned questioningly, a group of freshmen came charging down the hall toward them. Mal didn't recognize any of them, but she _did_ know the huge shadow creatures chasing them. _They look just like...but, no...that's not possible!_

"RUN!" a new voice yelled at the students. They didn't need to be told twice. They raced past Mal and her friends, not seeming to even see them in their frantic haste. But that didn't stop Mal from noticing the familiar red-headed teen step from the shadows to face down the creatures with a powerful glare.

"Queenie!" Evie gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"Get everyone out of here!" Queenie yelled back, dodging a leaping cheetah and bracing herself for the bear. "Get them to safety! I can hold these things off!"

Mal wanted to question the orders, wanted to know why the girl was even at the school. She was supposed to be watching the younger VKs! But the curiosity died in her throat as she felt Ben grab her arm and yank her down the hall after them. They rounded a corner and sprinted toward the gymnasium, where they found a hoard of students all clambering and shouting over the top of one another.

Mal instantly spotted Kayleigh out of the crowd at the same time the girl spotted her. "Mal!" Kayleigh ran to join them. "Mal, what's going on?" she questioned. "Fairy Godmother and Beast gathered us all here, but they won't tell us why and I can't find Doug anywhere!" She seemed so frightened. "I asked Derek, and Gordon, and everyone else I could find. No one has seen him."

She looked so hopeful. Mal hesitated and was spared having to give an explanation by the loud tapping of a microphone being tested. "Hello? Hello? Bippity Bippity, is it on? Oh, it is, okay, thank you." Mal turned at Fairy Godmother's shaky voice to see the blue fairy on the stage, trying desperately to get everyone's attention. Beside her stood Beast and Belle, both looking as disturbed, if not more. "Attention, everyone!" The typical level-headed edge of her voice was gone, replaced with true panic. The students seemed to sense it and the room immediately burst into havoc.

"Fairy Godmother, what's going on out there?"

"What's attacking the school?"

"Are we really safe in here?"

Mal winced at the increasing volume of the questions. She found Carlos and Evie's guilty gazes and the sensation flowed through her. _We need to get back to the Isle, spell or no. We've overcome magic before. And this is for Doug. __NeoMerlin__ or no, he's no match for Morgana_.

As Fairy Godmother struggled to regain control, Lonnie, Jane, Chad, and Audrey found their way over.

"Are you guys all right?"

"Do you know what's happening out there?"

"Where's Doug? Did you find his mom?"

"Why is everything so dark?"

The last remark was from Chad. In answer, the others rolled their eyes. It was Evie who answered, tears already beginning to flood her eyes as she explained everything. They listened, expressions growing more and more shocked and horrified by the minute. At last, when Evie finished, Jane was nearly in tears, Lonnie had taken a seat and buried her head in her arms, Chad's typical coy smile was gone, and Audrey looked as though she'd been forced to eat a lemon. 

"So, you see our dilemma," Evie finished in barely more than an audible whisper. "We can't get back to the Isle. Morgana's spelled us out. But if we don't, Doug'll think we abandoned him and Morgana will be able to manipulate him to do whatever she wants."

"And what makes you think Doug'll ever do anything she says?" Kayleigh questioned. "He's smart enough to know that Morgana doesn't really care about him, right?"

"He's definitely smart enough," Mal admitted. "But that's not really what I'm worried about."

Audrey frowned. "What then?"

"It's just...Doug's never had the love of a mother. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure Dopey was a great father. But he was still a single parent. And, Doug doesn't understand how powerful a mother's hold can be, believe me, I know."

"But you got away," Lonnie pointed out. "You chose good."

"Yeah," Mal mumbled. "I just hope Doug will do the same." She didn't emphasis her point. She didn't have to. 

"Hey," Queenie gasped, sliding into the room, breathless, a bit red in the face, but seemingly unhurt. "How's it going in here?"

"Oh," Audrey waved a hand toward the stage where Fairy Godmother had clearly lost control. "I'd rate it somewhere between _zing_ and _boing_. But, you know, it could be a _wham_, it's a bit difficult to tell from here." She squinted. 

Queenie narrowed her eyes as she turned toward Evie. "Is she mocking me?" she questioned, jabbing a thumb in Audrey's direction. 

Evie held up her fingers in a gesture for _'just a little bit_'. Queenie snorted and took it in stride.

"Son, Mal, Everyone." Beast and Belle waded their way over and it was Beast who had spoken. "I'm afraid I have some bad news."

"_More_?" Chad scoffed. He was silenced by the other's fierce glares.

"Dad?" Ben questioned worriedly. "What is it?"

"Merlin has just been to see me," Beast answered. "And he's informed me of several...important facts...that you so conveniently forgot to mention."

Ben and Mal both hung their heads in shame. "I know," Ben spoke first. "I should have told you the trouble Doug was in. But I thought it would be better for him, the less people knew. Including you. I'm sorry. "

Beast put a firm hand on his son's shoulder. "You were just looking out for a friend. We aren't angry at you for that. But son, you know you can come to us for _anything_, don't you? We want to be here. Not as former rulers, but as your parents. We love you. And Doug too. He's practically a second son to us both. Whoever his mother is, she doesn't know him like we do. The real him at least. He may be half-villain, but he's a hero at heart."

Carlos' head shot up at this. "His heart! That's _it!" _He jumped up and started toward the door.

"His..." Mal began, still processing. And then she saw the boy was gone. "Carlos!" she yelled, leaping to her feet and signaled for the others to do the same. "Where are yo_u going_?"

"Just follow me!" came the response. "I think I know a way to break Morgana's spell!"


	15. A Bit of Fairy Tale Magic

_ **"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good...** _

**Time until Doomsday: 32 hours**

The storm overhead grew worse. Fat raindrops clattered off of the metal roofing and the air was filled with the static of lightning. Outside, the civilians chattered and screamed at one another as a large bolt of blue electricity struck the heart of the town, setting several buildings aflame and sending three people to the hospital.

But the boy curled up in the corner of his old bedroom knew none of this. He was aware of nothing more than the steady stream of tears rolling down his cheeks and the occasional popping of light at the ends of his fingers as his world smashed to pieces all around him and the fragments vanished before he could catch them. He could still see his friends, the looks of hurt and fear as they'd left, ran away, abandoned him. He could feel each word like a dagger through his heart.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"You're just like her. _Evil."_

"You'll never be a hero. You aren't good enough. Too weak. Too geeky. A _dwarf_. How did you expect to be able to defend an entire world when you couldn't even protect yourself?"

He whimpered, tucking himself further into the shadows, hardly aware of anything anymore. He just wanted to _go home_. He was tired of pretending. Tired of trying to be a hero that no one wanted. He just wanted to be_ normal _again. But, somewhere deep within his heart, he now understood he'd never been normal. He'd always had the magic inside of him. It had waited eighteen years to rear it's ugly head, and had decided now was the perfect time for a bit of fun.

Doug wasn't finding any of this fun. Not at_ all_.

He desperately wished time to somehow reverse itself, back to before he ever became the NeoMerlin. Back to when the worst thing he had to worry about was passing a literature exam and not, you know..._dying_... from his friends' crazy escapades (Audrey had been the closest he'd ever gotten to death, and that was a feeling he'd rather not experience again). Back to ice cream and movie dates with Evie, when she'd seen him as simple, kind, and fairly dorky, not dangerous, angry, and magical.

_"What do you want to be?"_

_He paused mid-lick, and glanced over his ice cream at Evie's curious gaze. She sat across from him, eating her own chocolate cone, watching him, waiting patiently for him to answer. "Oh, well, I guess...I hadn't really thought about it," he confessed. "Since magic's clearly out of the option."_

_Evie's eyes flashed in confusion. "Magic?"_

_He smiled sheepishly. "Yeah. When I was a kid, I read all the fairy tales I could get my hands on. And I wanted to be like them, you know? The heroes. The ones with magic who would swoop in at the last possible moment, save the girl, and get a happily ever after. I was ten before I realized that I was a dwarf. No magic for me." The smiled turned a bit wry and disappointed. "What do you think a musician goes for these days?"_

_"You don't need magic." __He was surprised at this, even more so that it came from Evie's mouth. But she stared at him with sincerity. "Really," she went on, seeing his disbelieving look. "You are a hero, Doug. _My _hero. And you got the girl without killing a dragon or chasing an old hag off of a cliff." She didn't even flinch when referencing her mother's death, though Doug did. "Don't worry about it," she added. "We're here now. Together. Let's not dwell on our parents' mistakes, all right?"_

_"All right," he agreed._

_"Good." Evie sat back in her seat and took another bite of her ice cream. "Besides, I want another scoop of this." She gestured to the ice cream. "Seriously, this is the _bestthing_ I've ever had. Hang on..." With that, she stood up and hurried back to purchase another._

_Doug chuckled and rested his head on his hand, wondering once more how he'd gotten so lucky. _

A flash of lightning near the window finally caused him to glance up from his own pitying thoughts. He realized that he was still in the house, alone, and that it was cold. He shivered and pulled his coat tighter around his shoulders, sinking lower against the wall and adjusted his glasses nervously. He roughly wiped his tears away and scanned the dark, deserted room.

Another flash of lightning, followed promptly by a crash of thunder. Slowly, he forced himself up onto shaky legs and limped toward the window, gazing out at the darkening city. His eyes widened as he saw the glow of the fire in the square, and, in the distance, a dark cloud was falling over Auradon, nearly blocking it from view. But nothing, _nothing_ could keep out the insistent orange flames from lapping at the sky.

Auradon was_ on fire._

_Evie...where are you? _He realized that the bluenette hadn't said anything about where she was going. As far as he knew, she could be in the middle of it all. And he couldn't just stand there and let something happen to her. _Okay...okay...think, Doug. Stand up. Walk to the door. That's it...okay. Now, just don't think of all the ways this could go wrong. Okay. Yeah. I can do this. Totally._

He stumbled down the stairs and out into the open street. Almost immediately, he was trampled by the screaming citizens as they fled from the square. "Sorry, sorry," he mumbled, shouldering his way against the crowd. "Excuse me. Sorry." While some turned briefly to give him a questioning look, most continued to push and shove without giving him so much as a second glance.

The plaza was in terrible condition. A great majority of the people had already fled. As he approached, his eyes took on the darkened patch of ash and rubble where the lightning had struck. It was shaped unusually, he noted. Nothing like a normal scorch mark. It seemed to have character, have shape, and as he approached, he could feel the power radiating off of it_. Okay, this can't be good._

And, immediately, he was whisked off into another memory.

_"Hey! Doug! Hold up!" Ben raced down the road after him. Doug paused and hitched his backpack up further on his shoulders, turning to face his friend in confusion. "Thanks," Ben went on as he slowed to walk in step with the dwarf._

_"Ben?" Doug questioned, watching the prince in concern. "What's wrong?" He'd only ever seen Ben run when he was late for something, or something really bad had happened (such as dumping a pot of boiling hot coffee on Belle's new white sofa)._

_"Huh? What? Oh, nothing's wrong. I just...was hoping I could talk to you for a minute."_

_Doug nodded. "Yeah, sure. What's on your mind?" The two started to walk and Doug kept looking up at his friend, squinting against the sunlight._

_"I'm going to be king soon."_

_"Yeah?" Doug wasn't sure where this was going, but he'd seen that look before. And it meant Ben was about to do something drastic._

_"And, as king, it is required that I have a second in case...in case something were to happen to me." Ben swallowed hard._

_Doug blinked. "You mean, if you were to die?" he translated. "Ben, don't be ridiculous! You're going to be a great king! Just what Auradon needs. Don't go start planning your funeral just yet, okay?"_

_Ben laughed at this and slung an arm around his shorter friend who squeaked a little in surprise and instinctively ducked away. "Deal," the prince went on. "But, Doug," He got all serious again. "If I were to..._die._..there's something I want you to do for me."_

_Doug looked skeptical. "What?"_

_"I want you to be king."_

Doug opened his eyes, finding himself standing once more in the square. The scent of ash and flames was strong here. The fire was somewhere nearby.   
He knew he had to find it. He couldn't just leave the people when they needed him. But Evie...

Fueled by a sudden thought, he hastily yanked his phone from his pocket and tried calling her. It went straight to voicemail. He tried Mal and Ben. Same thing. He frowned and sent Evie a text.

_E, I'm so so sorry. For everything. I understand if you hate me and never want to see me again. I'll _ _accept_ _ that. I probably deserve it. But at least let me try to make up for _ _it_ _. I think _ _I_ _ know how to stop Morgana. If _ _I_ _ don't come back, please tell my family how much _ _I_ _ love them. And you. I never stopped loving you, Evie. And _ _I_ _ hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me one day._

A single tear rolled down his cheek as he sent the message. Then, taking a deep, shuddering voice, he turned and began sprinting toward the flames.

***  
"Tell me you found it."

Jay couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at Carlos' demanding tone. It was a bit out of character. But, nevertheless, he took it in stride and nodded his confirmation while setting the staff against the table.

"Now, how is this going to help us again?" Evie questioned from her arms-crossed position across the room.

"Easy," Carlos explained. "This is Merlin's staff. It is the most powerful magical object _in the world_. Even Morgana's magic won't be able to overpower it." He leaned back, seemingly proud of himself. "Combine it with the Dragon Stone, and you've got your way onto the Isle."

Ben whistled. "That's all?"

"That's all," Carlos confirmed.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Evie questioned, standing up abruptly and causing the others to do the same. "Let's go find Doug!"

A crash of thunder outside. They all cringed. "And quickly,"Audrey added. "Before this temper tantrum ends with a funeral. "

On that cheery note, they set off.

They had almost reached the Isle when Evie got the text.

_ **...Mischief managed.** _ ** _"_ **


	16. Good To Be Bad

_But now my heart is dark. My bite is worse than my bark. ~"Noticed" by MandoPony_

**Time Until Doomsday: 28 hours**

It wasn't hard to track Morgana. All he had to do was follow the smoke and the screams of the citizens. Each one felt like a dagger through the heart. He knew it was all his fault. If he hadn't frozen before, Morgana would have been stopped. She wouldn't have been able to terrorize anyone like she was now. So, it was only fitting that he had to be the one to stop her before she did something so terrible that he could never forgive himself.

_"Tell me about my mother."_

_Dopey paused and glanced his way. "I'm confused," he signed. "Why do you want to know about her? You know she died a long time ago."_

_"Yes. But I still want to know. She still was my mom. What was she like? Was she beautiful? What was her name? Was she a dwarf too?"_

_Dopey sighed. "She was beautiful. Like an angel. Nice, too. She always seemed to know what to say and how to help out. She insisted I call her M. That's all I ever knew her as. No, she was not a dwarf. She was human." He gazed wistfully out the window. "I miss her, you know. I think about her everyday. And I can see her in you."_

_"Dad! I don't look like a girl!"_

_Dopey smiled. "No, of course not. I just meant your eyes and your smile. They're from her."_

_"You're telling me this _clearly dopey_ grin is from mom?" he teased, settling down to pack his lunch for the first day of middle school. He was excited, border-line terrified. He tried so hard to fit in, but the other kids just mocked and laughed at him. They called him "dwarf" "geek" and "sidekick". They mocked him for never knowing his mother._

_"How could you ever have a happily ever after when you can't even protect your parents?" That was Chad Charming, the biggest bully and jerk in all of Auradon. This was followed promptly with Doug on the ground, books scattered and homework assignments blowing away while a ring of jeering laughter trailed after him like a hungry wolf._

_"You're just a dork. You have two left feet. You're clumsy, and you care more about your science textbooks than communicating with actual human beings." That was Audrey. Rude, but at least she took the time to explain it out to him. That time, he hadn't ended up with mud all over his clothes, so he considered himself lucky._

_"Doug, it's okay. Don't let them get to you." That was Ben. He recalled hearing the prince's voice for the first time. Startled, he glanced up from his homework to find the brunette standing over him, arms crossed, a friendly smirk on his face. Doug was confused. How did this boy know his name? For a moment, he wondered what he'd done wrong to get on Ben's radar, but those fears evaporated as the prince took a seat on the picnic table across from him._

_"I'm not like them," Doug mumbled into his book, lowering his gaze, waiting for Ben to mock and laugh at him like all the others._

_"You don't need to be." Doug looked up abruptly, staring at Ben, wide-eyed. He'd expected an insult, and here he was, receiving a compliment instead. "You're special in your own way. Everyone is. Never let anyone tell you otherwise." Ben stood up to leave. "And, I'm sure, whoever your mother was, she loved you very much."_

_And for a moment, Doug had felt at peace._

Now, that peace was shattered, replaced with the horrid and irreplaceable truth. His mother hadn't loved him. Just like she hadn't loved his father and just like she hadn't really died. And what was worse, she was a very bad sorceress, intent on destroying all that was good and light.

And he somehow had to prevent that.

_How_ might have been a bit fuzzy, but he knew he had to at least try. For Auradon. And for Evie. He would do anything for her. Even take on his mother single-handedly. Even if he didn't think he was _anywhere_ near ready, and his powers were still faulty, only functioned half of the time, and were almost non-existent.

Another explosion rocked the street. Doug instinctively ducked as shambles of a nearby roof crumbled onto the cobblestone. Several shrieks could be heard from a nearby alley, and, as he paused to listen for cries of help, a cluster of kids came bursting from the darkness and barrelled past him. He flattened himself against the cold wall to avoid being trampled. They never saw him and just kept running until their voices died in the distance.

He sighed and kept moving, using the shadows to his advantage. They felt safe, and he found himself flinching whenever lightning flashed or a light in a building flicked on. His pace was steady as he slipped through the city, moving ever closer to his mother, and what he knew would be the final confrontation. One way or another.

The faint glow around his hands intensified the closer he got to the opposite side of the Isle. He quicked his steps, pulled his coat tighter around his shoulders, and raised his hood, sidestepping a group of hobbling witches who watched him curiously as he broke into a jog and rounded a bend, now heading toward Pirate's Cove, if he recalled what Evie had told him correctly.

A rumble of thunder welcomed him as he entered a park and hurried through, head lowered, eyes scanning the crumbling statues, cracked walkways, and dead trees. He thought he saw a flicker of movement from his right, but when he paused to look, there was nothing there.

His phone buzzed and he instinctively reached for it, opening the screen and reading the message. It was from Evie.

_Doug! Don't do it! You know it's a trap! Wait, please! Doug, I know you. I _love_ you. You aren't a rash person. Don't let Morgana make you into something you're not! _Please_!_

_I'm sorry, Evie_. He closed the phone and stuffed it back into his pocket, lowering his gaze once more and continuing his trudge through the stillness. He thought back over the past few weeks, ever since he'd discovered he was the NeoMerlin. It seemed he'd been apologizing much more frequently than ever before. _I'll find a way to make it up to them_, he promised himself. Just as soon as he got back. After Morgana was defeated and he could finally get some closure.

_That's __assuming__ you __survive__ this confrontation_, a little voice in the back of his mind whispered. He quickly forced that thought away. He'd survive. He _had_ to. Auradon depended on it.

As he reached the other side of the park and his feet hit the pavement, something moved out of the corner of his vision. He spun toward it, but saw nothing. "H-hello?" he called attentively, but there was no reply. "W-who's t-there?"

Silence.

Nervously, Doug turned back to be on his way. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and spun. He started to walk forward...right into something. A cold chuckle flooded his ears and he slowly opened his eyes as an ice-cold hand clamped down on his shoulder. Recognizing the figure, he opened his mouth to scream but no sound came out.

With a triumphant smirk, Horvath brought a finger to his lips and shifted his cane to his other hand. Doug panicked and began to struggle, but the warlock was much too strong.

"Hello again, NeoMerlin," he drawled. "Not so brave without your friends to fight your battles are you?" Doug tried to cry out again, but Horvath swiftly brought his cane to the dwarf's face. _"Don't,_" he warned. "No one's going to come to your rescue, half-breed. So much as breathe a syllable, and I'll _kill_ you. Do you understand?"

All the fight seemed to be zapped from him. He went limp and nodded weakly. He wasn't sure what came over him. He finally settled on the possibility that he'd been spelled into submission. Whatever the reason, he found himself steered away from the park. Horavath's iron grip held fast and he could feel his nails digging into his shoulder. His breaths were short and rapid and his eyes darted every which way. He prayed the others would come back, that they'd find him in time because he really_ really_ didn't want to take on Morgana alone.

They left the main street and Doug noticed the explosions getting louder. His eyes widened as he was forced past the remains of several buildings he recognized from the last time he was there. To his dismay, he recognized part of the sign for Curl Up and Dye, and he could only hope Lady Tremaine had gotten out. He tried to stop and be sure, but Horvath shoved his cane into his back and forced him onward.

"Must be horrible for you," Horvath commented. "To see the destruction you've caused. Destroying lives of villains and heroes alike. Oh, well, like mother like son, I suppose." He was toying with him, trying to break him. Doug wouldn't be swayed and he put on a blank expression, refusing to let the warlock see how deeply the words hurt.

They rounded a corner and Doug blinked, finding himself standing in a small clearing, the ruins of buildings surrounding him on every side. Then, he spotted her and his legs turned to jelly. He stumbled and nearly fell. His yelp of surprise was enough to earn him a painful jab in the shoulder blades and to gain the attention of the red-headed witch. He was disgusted at the smile that spread across her lips as she laid eyes on him, and her voice was colder than death itself.

"Ah, Doug, _welcome._ How kind of you to join us." She held out an hand to gesture him over, and to his terror, he felt his legs complying. The next thing he knew, Morgana was putting a gentle arm around him and leading him toward one side of a ring of fire. He glanced up fearfully, but she only smiled back at him. "This is how it should be," she told him in a whisper. "Mother and son. Side by side. I knew you were better than those weak heroes. Darkness always overpowers the worthless light. I'd hoped you'd come around to seeing it from my point of view."

_Run!_ his brain screamed at him_. Run, you fool! _He tried to move his limbs, but found they wouldn't respond. "W-what are you going t-to d-do?" he questioned in a stammer. The tremor was enough to send terror through his entire body. If he couldn't even speak, how did he expect to be able to stand up to her?

"The world is at a state of chaos and is out of control. Sometimes, reprogramming is required, and sometimes, it is better to start entirely from scratch."

Doug paled. "You're going to destroy the _entire world_?" he squeaked.

Morgana chuckled. "And that is where you come in, son. You're more powerful than me. Than Merlin. In order to reconstruct this world, I need _you_."

"_No_," Doug gasped. Feeling finally returned to his knees and he fell back. "_No, __I__ won't let you!"_ He turned to run, only for Morgana's grip go from protective to shocking in a single moment.

He screamed as the lightning jolted through his body and he forcibly yanked himself away, falling backward onto the pavement, his glasses jumping from his face and landing somewhere amongst the shadows.

"You _will_ help me," Morgana hissed, gliding forward and seizing a fistful of his shirt, hoisting him into the air. He gasped, choking, kicking wildly, unable to break free. "You are _my_ son._ This_ is your destiny."

"No..." Doug repeated firmly through his wheezes. "I won't...help you..." Summoning every ounce of strength he could muster and praying desperately that it would pay off, he lashed out with his feet. His kick connected and Morgana released him with a gasp of surprise. He fell onto his back and promptly scrambled away.

There was a crackle from near his head and, as he turned, he instinctively threw up a shield around his arm. The ball of lightning reflected off of it and smashed against the ground. Horvath stood behind him, glowering.

Behind him, Morgana let out a breathy laugh. "Your efforts are futile," she hissed. "Valiant, but futile. You may have more power than even Merlin himself, but you have yet to learn to control it. You're as much a danger to yourself as the others until you understand the full capacity of your abilities. Let me _show_ you."

Without warning, she lunged, grabbing his wrists, and, amid his frantic shrieks, yanked him to face her. His hands, which had been glowing faintly before, now exploded in light. Pain shot through his body and he cried out, struggling to free himself, but the witch had an iron grip and held fast.

"Your soul belongs to me," she whispered, taking his wrists in one hand and pressing the other against his chest. "Don't fight it. It will all be over soon."

Doug heaved at the touch, squeezing his eyes shut as the pain intensified and his head swam. "No...no...p-please..." His legs trembled as he felt every ounce of courage abandon him, leaving nothing but a trembling, petrified, scrawny hero-wannabe. "S-stop...stop...h-help...someone...h...elp."

"There's no one here," Morgana's voice sounded distant. His head sagged, as he no longer had the strength to hold it up and he could feel his heart slowing. "No one's coming for you. It's all over. So just try and relax."

_It's over..._Her words rattled through his brain and he sunk to his knees, feeling his breath leaving him. _You failed them. It's over._

That was the last thing he remembered as the pavement rose to meet him and he blacked out for what he anticipated would be the last time. 


	17. The Past Is Never What It Seems

**Time Until Doomsday: 27--26--25...0 hours**

_"Hey guys. I'm Doug. Dopey's son...? As in; Dopey, Doc, Bashful, Happy, Grumpy, Sneezy..."_

_"Evie, Evil Queen's daughter."_

_"I guess we really are Romeo and Juliet, huh?"_

_"Yes, Doug. We are." _

He screamed into the darkness, thrashing wildly against invisible restraints. Pain shot through his wrists and head and he jerked backward, heaving. His body lurched forward without warning. His legs crumpled and he fell. 

Light burst before his eyes and he cringed as he found himself standing in a dark room. Bringing a hand to his throbbing head, he stumbled to his feet, glancing around in confusion. _Where am I?_ He heard the shuffle of movement from his left and he automatically spun. His eyes widened and he let out an unconscious scream as he spotted Morgana walking toward him. He took a step back, bracing himself for whatever spell she would decide to use on him. 

To his surprise, however, she didn't look his way. Her eyes were fixed on something else. A small bundle of blankets tucked securely in her arms. As she swept by, Doug felt the freezing sensation rush through him. He knew what was happening. He was seeing the past. _His_ past. And, as he turned, he was acutely aware of the change in the room. He recognized trees and felt the soft grass underneath his feet. 

"He's my _son_!"

He turned abruptly at the distinguishable and angry voice of Morgana. Where was she? _There! _He caught a glimpse of her cloak as she passed between some nearby trees. Hastily, he started after her, though he couldn't explain why and his legs weren't cooperating.

"It doesn't matter. You know what the prophecy says he will become!"

A second voice. Distinguishably male. He didn't recognize it. Curious, he moved closer for a better look.

"The destroyer of all villains?" Morgana scoffed. She sounded different, younger, pleading. It was a bit unnerving. "Come on, Merlin. _Surely_ you don't believe that nonsense! It's only an old man's..._oh_."

"Be that as it may," the man spoke sternly. "But the child is far too dangerous. Half-breeds are too unpredictable. His father was a hero, was he not?"

"I hardly see how that is relevant," Morgana fired back. "He's _my son _and I refuseto let you toss him aside as though he were garbage. Not again."

"Morgan--"

"_No_. You got the Prime Merlinian. You will not get him as well!"

"Morgana, _listen," _Merlin snapped. "He won't be safe here. The heroes, they know what you've done. They'll kill you...and him...if they know he's your son. Let me take him to Auradon. Let Dopey raise him. No one will ever have to know the truth."

"How can you guarentee that? How do I know you won't kill him the moment I leave?"

"I'm Merlin," was his cheeky response. "Not a murderer."

The world began to crumble back into darkness, but the audible cries of a baby could be heard.

"I won't let anyone hurt him," the wizard went on. "And now, I believe you have another mission to complete."

"No."

"Find her, Morgana. You can't leave her out there. She's his sister. Your daughter."

Doug had just enough time to draw back in shock before everything around him went white.

And somewhere across Auradon, a creature woke...


	18. Lighting a Match

The amount of damage was immeasurable. Streets had been abandoned at the first signs of danger, cars and bicycles left behind in the panic. Buildings had crumbled, and in some cases, had fallen in completely. Everywhere Evie looked, she saw nothing but disaster. She felt tears pricking at her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away. She needed to be strong right now. For Auradon. For Doug.

_He's out there _ _somewhere_ _. We have to find him!_

Mal was at her side. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the wreckage and she clutched her spell book close to her chest as though pondering how she could possibly fix it all. Her gaze fell on a mother and her two sons as they stood huddled around what remained of their once rundown home. "Evie..." she breathed, latching a firm hand on her shoulder. "Look."

Evie could barely make herself follow the purplette's gaze. Her heart shattered over and over at the site. All the ruin. All the heartache. She couldn't believe even someone like Morgana could do all of this. _Destroying people's homes...their lives...all to stop some stupid prophecy._

_And Doug._

Where was he? Was he all right? Was he still angry at them? She wished she knew the answer. She wished she could see him, to explain, and apologize. But things were spiraling out of control faster than she could grasp. And now he was missing, the Isle had been practically torn to the ground, and magic was going haywire in Auradon. She knew they_ had_ to get this all resolved. As _soon_ as possible.

"Mal! MAL! EVIE!"

"BEN! CARLOS! JAY!"

Two very loud and very distinct voices rose over the thunder. Evie immediately stopped in her tracks, already spinning on the balls of her feet (as Mal smashed into her) to meet the hurrying forms of Uma, Harry, and Gil as the three pirates appeared from a side alley and rushed to meet them.

"Whoa! Guys, I'm so glad we found you!" Gil exclaimed. "Have you seen what's happening around here? It's _crazy_!"

Uma rolled her eyes. "All right, Evie," she grunted. "Morgana's here. Time's up, so where is your dwarf?"

"Uh..." Evie hesitated and glanced behind her as the boys parcored over several pieces of rubble and debris. "Well, you see, the thing is..."

"You lost him, didn't you?"

"Um..._lost_ may not be _exactly_ the right word for it..." Evie stammered. "It's more like...temporarily misplaced. Yeah."

Uma raised an eyebrow, looking extremely unconvinced. "You lost him."

"_Yes_! Okay? I lost him!" Evie threw her hands into the air. "Morgana spelled us to be angry at him. It wore off the moment we reached Auradon, but it was too late and I'm scared. Maleficent said all this..." She gestured to the destruction. "is Doug's doing. That's why we have to find him and why I don't have _time _to stand and explain it all to you!" With that quick display of emotion, she turned and began to stomp away.

"Wow. Okay," Uma sighed, following closely behind. "_The __girl's__ got fire. _Duly noted. Come on, boys," she added, waving along Harry and Gil. "Let's go fetch the nerd before he gets himself killed."

Ben walked up and put him arm reassuringly around Mal's shoulders. "We're going to find him," he whispered to her. "Morgana will not get away with this. _Any_ of it. We just have to stay positive, and think this through logically."

"Right," Carlos added, bounding up to them. "If I were a super-smart, highly overpowered dwarf, where would I go?"

"Someplace quiet," Evie whispered as she folded her arms thoughtfully. "He'd want to lay low until he could gather his bearings. Somewhere...somewhere he could be alone...without lots of people. Where...where would a place like that be around here?"

"Well," Jay ran up, holding a remote tightly. It was the controller to a drone, Evie realized. And with it, they had a bird's eye view of the Isle. "I've been following the patches of damage, and I think I found its origin."

"The epicenter?" Carlos piped up, hurrying to his side to look over his shoulder.

"Yeah."

"Okay. Where is that?" Mal demanded, pointing to the red circle on the screen.

"It looks like...the square," Jay answered, blinking in surprise. "But, don't you think that's a little...out there? I mean, didn't Evie _just say _Doug would probably hole himself up somewhere inconspicuous? I don't know, Crime Square seems pretty open to me. But, hey, that could just be me."

"No, you're right," Evie agreed. "But that's where the majority of the magic appears to be coming from. So I think we should at least go and check it out. What does everyone think?" She glanced around at her friends, trying to be as calm and collected as possible, when deep down, all she wanted to do was scream and cry and kick all STUPID PROPHECIES about her true love to the MOON. Or maybe even further, if she was feeling extra furious. Which she was.

"Yeah, I agree," Carlos said, nodding. "Are you all thinking what I am thinking?"

The others smiles at one another, the first signs of amusement since the entire situation had begun. "Stand back," Mal ordered, shooing the Sea Three back as she reached to remove the shining jewel from her pocket. "All right. Everybody ready?"

The others nodded.

Mal raised the jewel.

There was a flash of brilliant light.

A furious roar flooded the clearing.

And five dragons took off into the air.

***

_"Do you see anything?" _Evie roared mentally as they swooped low under a bridge and floated high above the wreckage. She could feel her heart throbbing and her lungs burning as she pumped her wings and kicked the air, soaring higher and higher. The land below seemed so small, it's inhabitants even smaller. It was the more realistic side of searching for a needle in a haystack. A really,_ really_ big haystack.

Not far away glided Mal with Uma clinging to her neck. The purple dragon's eyes flashed as she scanned the landscape and a growl of urgency emitted from her throat.

_"Nothing!" _came Jay's nearby shout as he curled in his wings and slipped between two narrow (and miraculously still standing) buildings. "And no sign of Queen-Mean either. Which," He made a face. "I can't decide is a good thing or not. On one hand, not finding her may mean she's gone and Doug's safe. On the other, I was rather looking forward to burning her to a crisp."

_You and me both._

"Sorry, Jay, no can do!" Ben called, appearing from above and soaring to join them. "Carlos!" he added. "How close are we to Crime Square?"

"Not far!" Carlos shouted. Evie twisted to face him, frowning at the device clutched tightly in his claws. It had been beeping off and on for the past twenty minutes, and only now was the speed of the noise beginning to increase. "We should be coming upon it in the next five minutes!"

_Great, _Evie thought. _Then we can get Doug and get rid of this ridiculous __prophecy__once__ and __for__ all. _Doug wasn't a villain. He wasn't cut out for a prophecy that molded him to become one. She didn't understand why he'd been chosen. It didn't make sense.

She had so many questions, and she only wished she had as many answers.

"We're coming upon the southern quadrant now," Carlos called again as he squeezed in between Evie and Ben. "According to my intel, this is the most damaged part to the city!" This announcement was followed by a low growl as Gil promptly leaned forward to glance around his neck to read the scanner and explain the information to the three who couldn't understand the dragons.

"Everyone keep your eyes open," Mal snapped as she pulled ahead to take the lead. "Doug could be anywhere."

"So could Morgana," Jay put in unhelpfully.

"I think we should split up!" Ben yelled over the howling wind. "We could cover more ground that way. Plus, there's a better chance we can find him if we search the whole island instead!"

"All right!" Mal agreed. "But nobody goes alone! We've already seen what Morgana can do when cornered. Let's not make it any easier for her, okay?" They nodded and so she continued. "In that case, Jay, Carlos, and Gil, you go left toward Hades' Lair. See if you can find anyone who might know what happened here. Evie--"

"I'll go right," Evie cut her off. "I can go alone. I can be pretty discrete when I so choose."

Mal hesitated, opened her jaws to protest, and then seemed to see the logic in it. "Fine," she caved. "You've got Harry with you," she added, gesturing to Hook, who had been strangely silent ever since they'd taken off. "The two of you stick together." She raised her voice to continue. "Ben and I will go to the square," she decided. "We'll meet back at the bridge in three hours. Sound good to everyone?"

"Sure," Jay said, angling his wings and pulling away from the main group. Carlos hastily flapped after him.

"See you," Ben said, tilting his head as a sign of good luck toward Evie before breaking off to fly with Mal.

"Bye," Evie replied.

With that, she turned and began to fly toward the outskirts of the city. _Where could he be_? she wondered to herself. It wasn't like the Isle was a great place to hide. If the crumbling buildings didn't catch you, one of the other villains would turn you in for sure. Once again, panic for him flashed through her. He was a hero. He didn't belong on the Isle. And as soon as another villain saw him, they would see right through him immediately._ No...that's not right. They aren't like that anymore. Everyone has reformed. Doug will be fine. We just have to find him before Morgana does._

"Evie?" came Harry's rather petrified voice from near her right ear.

She tossed her head to show she'd heard him.

"Can we go down now,_ please_? I find meself rather uncomfortable with the altitude."

Evie sighed breathily and scanned the ground below. No sign of her true love, or a good landing site either, for that matter. She shook her head and heard Harry groan disappointedly. _We have to keep searching. He's here somewhere, and it's up to us to __find__ him._

"Evie, I think it's fair to tell ya, I don't like flying!"

Evie smiled, recalling Doug telling her the exact same thing. The smile quickly morphed to a sad frown and she sniffed as her eyes fell on a familiar structure nearly buried below mounds of rubble. _The school. __That's__where__I__ first met Mal and the others._

"We're going down!" she called to Harry, though she knew he couldn't understand. Taking a breath to sturdy her shaking hands...er...claws...she twisted left and plummeted toward the ground, feeling Harry's grip on her back grow a thousand times tighter.

The smile pushed its way onto her face once more as she neared the earth and snapped open her wings, buffeting the air and pulling up at the last moment, satisfied as she touched down, scanning the crooked street for danger. "All right. Coast's clear. Off you go."

Almost as though he'd understood her, he slid from her shoulders and dropped lightly to the pavement, breathing a string of words Evie guessed were part of a grateful prayer. Inhaling, she willed the transformation to take hold, and moments later, she was standing at his side, dressed from head to toe in dark blue leather, flaunting a dark red backpack and a hidden compartment in her boots for a knife. Her hair was tied back with a thin ribbon from Dizzy, and it lacked her normal assortment of decorations. She was in full battle mode. _No one _kidnapped _her_ dwarf and got away with it.

"Swords out," she ordered, gesturing for him to follow and stay close.

Harry drew two blades, keeping one for himself and tossing the second to her. She caught it in one swift movement and they shared a small smile before Evie came to and abruptly turned away, ready to take on an entire army.

"Which way?" Harry questioned, hurrying up behind her.

Evie paused, considering their options. To the left were the docks. To the right, the streets plunged deeper into the city. She didn't know which way Doug would have gone. Probably away from anywhere he could be cornered. But that did not narrow it down much. "Let's...go toward the square. We can work our way in from here. Maybe we'll get lucky."

"And if we don't?"

"Not an option."

With that revelation, the two took off into the shadows.

* * *

Mal and Ben slid around the side of a building, keeping their backs firmly planted against the cement and the shadows across their faces. Mal was dressed in a black and green leather jacket and purple jeans, while Ben was in royal blue and bright yellow. Not exactly conspicuous, but then again, he wasn't really trying to be. "How does it look?" Ben hissed, leaning over Mal's shoulder to stare at the dismal street before them.

"Empty," Mal answered, squinting. "_Completely _empty. It's a little freaky actually. I came here hundreds of times when I was a kid. This part of town has_ never _been this deserted."

"Disaster can cause the strangest reactions," Ben pointed out. "I bet everyone is holed up in what is left of their homes, too scared to come out." He ran a hand through his unruly hair. "This won't do," he said with a sigh. "I'm their king. I'm supposed to _protect_ them from this. And I can't...I didn't..." He turned a complete circle and took a deep breath, closing his eyes and trying to control the apparent panic attacks.

"Ben...hey! Ben!" Mal grabbed his shoulders and yanked him to face her. "It's all right. Everyone is going to be okay! _Okay_?"

He looked at her with tears in his eyes and nodded slowly.

"Now, come on. We've come so far. We can't quit now."

"As _exciting _as this is, _really," _Uma spoke up from around the bend as she came into view with a scowl. "We aren't here to talk about kingly problems. Let's just find the dwarf and get out of here before Morgana or one of her goons spots us."

"Lead the way," Ben offered, waving a hand.

Uma accepted the invitation and sprinted past them, darting between the ruins as though she were nothing more than a ghost. Ben and Mal jogged after her.

They rounded a bend and Mal searched the park they emerged into. It wasn't as nice as the ones in Auradon, but it wasn't nearly as bad as she remembered it. _Wow. The Isle has __really__cleaned__ itself up since we were here last._

_"Psst! _Mal! Beast! Over here!" Uma gestured them over to join her behind a nonfunctioning water fountain. "Look," she said, pointing toward the earth.

Mal could see they were standing on uneven surface, meaning the earthquake had probably ripped through the area, and they were getting closer to the epicenter. "It's going toward Nightmare Cove," she realized.

"Isn't that where Maleficent got her magic?" Uma questioned.

"Yeah," Mal nodded. "It's famous for its unexplained magical properties. Magicians have gathered their for centuries to prepare for..." she trailed off, her eyes widening at the realization, and it was evident from the others' expressions that they'd guessed what she was going to say. _To prepare for the NeoMerlin and the Legend of the Lost._

"Yeah, I think we should go there," Ben said nervously.

"Agreed," Uma said with a nod.

They broke into a jog, when all of a sudden, Mal stopped and whirled around to face the clearing, hearing something. "Guys," she called, drawing their attentions immediately. "Hold up. I heard something."

"What?" Ben questioned.

Mal strained her ears. The clearing went deathly silent. The only noise was the frantic thumping of her heart. The noise had sounded like that of something in pain...but it could just as easily be a trap. She gestured for the others to back up, which they did. Uma quietly drew a sword and pushed Ben behind her. "Mal? What do you hear?"

"I...don't know," Mal answered. "Everybody stay alert." Her eyes flashed again and she flexed a hand, ready to perform a spell at a moment's notice, when...

"M-Mal..."

The cough was so weak, that for a moment, she wasn't even sure she'd heard it. And then, her eyes enlarged even more when she realized where the voice was coming from. "Did you..." she questioned, twirling to face the others, only to see Ben bolt away from them toward the side of a building. Sharing a look of realization, Mal and Uma followed post-haste. 

"B-ben..."

_There! There it is again_! It was Doug! It _had _to be! Mal didn't question it. The dwarf's whisper was so quiet...so pained...she was almost afraid to see how bad off he really was. But she couldn't avoid it, she chided herself. If he was really injured, maybe there would be something she could do to help. Immediately, she began skimming her brain for any healing spells she could remember from her book. 

"Doug!" 

Ben moved, becoming nothing more than a blur out of the corner of Mal's eye as he rushed to kneel down next to his friend who was lying limply against a wall. By his uncomfortable position, it was obvious he'd drug himself there. Ben rested a hand on Doug's forehead. The dwarf gave a tiny whimper, but didn't jerk away. In fact, he hardly made any motion, which concerned Mal as she went to kneel down next to Ben. 

"He's burning up," the king mumbled. He lowered his hand to take the boy's shoulder and shake him roughly. "Doug! Hey, Doug! Wake up, man! He's not responding," he added worriedly to Mal. "What did Morgana do to you, dude?" 

"He looks so weak," Mal muttered, scooting forward to check his pulse. "But I can't find any signs of injury, and he's still breathing, which is a good sign."

"Why is it everytime I see this boy, he's unconscious?" Uma marveled aloud.

"He's the weakest link, as my mother would probably say," Mal replied. "And now that I think about it..." She didn't continue, but reached for her phone instead.

"What are you doing?" Ben questioned.

"Calling Evie," she replied. "See if you and Uma can help him up," she went on, waving her hand in dismissal.

"Where are we going?" Ben questioned as he and Uma struggled. "Oh for...here. I've got a better idea." And with that, he picked Doug up fireman-style. "There. All right, Mal, where to?"

"Just follow me," Mal instructed as she lowered the phone, having only gotten voicemail, and began to power walk it away from the alley. "You'll know it when we get there."


	19. Watching It Burn

Thunder rumbled loudly against the window panes, and the force of the boom shook the rafters. The storm was getting closer by the hour. Soon it would swallow all of Aursdon. Doug had _still_ not woken up yet, and his friends were _seriously _beginning to get concerned about him.

Each had taken up a different mode of waiting. Mal was asleep near the front door. Uma and Harry leaned against the side wall, absentmindedly sharpening their blades. Gil, Jay, and Ben were sword fighting off in the adjoining room. Carlos was skimming through a text book he'd borrowed from the rubble at the school. And Evie was standing, arms crossed, at the window, watching the rain drizzle off of the stained glass. Every so often, one or more of them would sneak a glance toward Doug, who was still lying, unresponsive, in Evie's hammock, praying that, by some miracle, they would all wake up from this nightmare to find everything back to the way it was before.

Eventually, Uma grew tired of staring into the abyss, and decided to flick through a few staticky channels on the portable television. Evie and Carlos glanced her direction, but said nothing. Evie moved to sit next to Doug, taking one of his hands firmly in hers.

"...and reports are coming in from all across the kingdom," droned the reporter. "A strong second round of storms are bashing the regions. Areas affected include: The Undersea Kingdom, Charmington, Neverland, and Sheerwood Forest. As of now, there have been no comments from King Ben or future Lady Mal as to the cause and--"

"Turn it off," Mal groaned, lifting her head to blink wearily at the sea witch.

Uma frowned. "But, I was just..."

"Uma. Turn. It. _Off," _Mal repeated angrily, shooting a glance toward a distraught Evie.

"_Fine,"_ Uma growled, flicking off the dial. "But you don't _really _believe _he_ is capable of all of that do you?"

"I don't know," Mal answered. "But I certainly know things aren't going to improve by us just sitting here, waiting for Morgana to put the pieces together." She stood up at this and began to pace the floor. "Maleficent said Morgana needs Doug for some kind of spell. The question is; _what_ is the spell? And if she got to him before we did, that could explain the state he's in now. So, then, the question would become: what curse did she put on him?"

"And how do we get rid of it?" Ben finished. 

Mal pointed to him. "Yes, that as well. So," she clapped her hands, gaining the attentions of everyone in the room. Carlos jumped to his feet, yelping about how he hadn't done anything, Jay and Harry crossed their arms, and Evie frowned. "What we_ need_ to do is go through all the spells Morgana is capable of, and narrow it down to what could have done this."

"_All _of them?" Jay sounded faint.

Mal set her petrifying glare on him. "Yes, Jay._ All_ of them."

"Okay, that's cool. Just checking." Jay, fortunately for him, knew when to back down. Then, before Carlos could protest, he yanked the book out of his hands and began flipping through the pages.

Mal noticed this, but said nothing. "All right. Ben? You, Gil, and Evie stay here and watch Doug. Harry, Uma, Jay, Carlos and I are going to look for supplies, and maybe get a lead on Morgana while we are there."

"We are?" Harry said, raising an eyebrow. Uma shot him a look that he obviously missed. "And how exactly are we going to do that?"

"Walk," Mal answered, sidestepping the mound of books and heading toward the door. 

Sharing an eye roll, Uma and Harry followed.

As soon as they left, Evie squeezed Doug's hand. "We'll figure this out," she whispered. "Mal'll take this spell off you, Doug. I promise." And then, just for good measure, she kissed his forehead. She felt both Ben's and Gil's gazes at her back, but she ignored them. This war...this spell...it had changed them. _All _of them. And, if she were being honest, that terrified her. 

"Hey, Evie?" Ben mumbled, dragging a chair over to sit next to her. "I just...everything is going to okay, okay? Mal has never let us down. I have faith in her. You should too."

Evie took a long breath. "I do," she said. "But, this is different than the other times. Before, it was always Mal who had to save the day. Mal, the one who learned to control her magic since she was one year old. Mal, the one who knows how dangerous and unpredictable power can be. Doug...Doug isn't like that, Ben. I don't care what Morgana says. He's not a villain."

"Even those with villain powers are not necessarily villains," Ben said, nodding in agreement. "We learned that with the four of you, and the Sea Three. I don't think Doug is bad either. "

"'Sea Three'?" Gil echoed. "_Oh_! Me, Harry, and Uma. I get it." He grinned. "I like it!"

"And I've known him the longest," Ben went on, ignoring Gil. The pirate shrugged, and, grabbing a handful of chips, threw himself backward into Jay's hammock. He missed, and landed with a loud thump against the wall, food crashing to the floor all around him.

"Aw, _man_," he groaned.

"_So I can completely vouch for him_," Ben continued, raising his voice pointedly.

"Right, sorry, sorry..." 

Evie groaned, dropping her head against the wall and closed her eyes. "Why?" she mumbled.

"What?" Ben asked, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Evie, what is it?"

She opened her eyes to look over at him. "Why is this happening?" she whispered, tears brimming in her eyes. "Why...after Maleficent, Uma, and _Audrey_...why can't things ever _just be_ _normal?_"

"I don't know," Ben confessed.

"We didn't _ask_ for this," Evie choked out. "We didn't _want any _of this. All we wanted was a _normal_ life, to go to a _normal _school, have _normal _friends. I mean, was that_ too much _to ask? And now, out of all of us, Doug _just had_ to go and be the NeoMerlin." She looked down at her boyfriend and sighed. 

"This wasn't his choice," Ben pointed out. "Evie, he didn't _want_ to be the NeoMerlin. I think he's just as scared as you are. Maybe more. I mean, can you imagine fighting your own mother, for the fate of _all of_ Auradon?"

"No," Evie admitted, touching Doug's forehead worriedly. "The fever still hasn't broke," she murmured. "He's not getting any better." Then, to the dwarf, she went on more softly. "I'm sorry, Doug. I know you never wanted any of this. I wish I could trade places with you. But we're going to get through this. Together. I'm not giving up on you, so _please_ don't give up on me."

"Uh..." Gil broke the silence. He was standing near the window, cautiously pushing the blind aside to stare out. "You guys... might want to come see this." He shoved another chip into his mouth and backed away as Evie and Ben hurried over.

"What is it?" Evie asked, ducking as Ben reached the window first and yanked back the blinds. "What do you see?"

"Auradon," Ben responded, his voice failing. "It's..._dying_."

"It's _what?" _Evie shoved Gil aside so she could stare out at the distant land, half shrouded by what she once had thought was fog. It was _smoke. _Everything was _on fire_.

"How?" Ben murmured. "Even with all of us here, there should be _some kind_ of protection around there!" He waved a hand in exasperation.

"What could have taken that protection down?" Evie mumbled, half to herself. Her eyes drifted back towards Doug, and the realization hit her like a ton of bricks. "It's Doug!" she blurted, causing both boys to turn to face her in surprise. "Remember how Mal said Doug protects Auradon? What if it's more than that? What if, Morgana...cursed him somehow? What if, the condition of Auradon effects him?"

"So...what you're saying is..." Ben said slowly.

"I think I know what Doug's curse is," Evie said grimly. "And if he dies, so does Auradon."


	20. A Spell to End All Spells

Rain pounded against the rafters as Mal led the others through the winding and deserted halls of their old school. Though it should have been brimming with students, the corridors seemed...almost haunted. Parts of the windows had shattered, and the cracks in the glass had created streaks of light and sent them dancing across the rain-swept floor before their feet. 

There were so many memories hidden within these walls. Some good, some not. Mal could almost see her first day, stalking down amid crowds of students, only for them to fall apart in formation as she passed. At the time, she'd enjoyed the sensation of fear that radiated from their hearts, but now, all she felt was guilt for the way she had treated them. 

But regrets about the past would do her no good now. She needed to focus on the present. There had to be something in the library that could explain what was happening to Doug. The spell wing was full of dusty old spell books that no one even gave a second glance. Magic as old as time was kept there. If anything could help the dwarf, it would be there. 

"Anyone _else_ get the sense that they are being watched?" Carlos inquired, his gaze revolving from the rafters to the abandoned and crumbling halls and back again.

"Oh, it's probably the _ghosts_," Jay said eerily. "Remember, Mal? Teach. used to say the halls were full of them."

"That's not funny, Jay!" Carlos snapped while the brunette made wailing noises.

"Will you two knock it off?" Uma snapped, pushing past them with a role of her eyes. "This is _serious!_"

"Right, yeah, sorry," Carlos apologized quickly, hurrying after the pirates.

Mal ignored their banter as she gazed at the side rooms, recognizing a few from her old days tormenting and stealing. She spotted the lab, where the Core Four's adventures had really begun so many years ago. It almost felt as if she was actually there, sitting in the classroom, ready to once more be her professor's favorite, and then realizing that the castle-schooled, blue-haired beauty was about to steal the show, and her thunder. She could still recall the anger and the jealously at the way Evie had beamed at the recognition. At that time, she hadn't known about the princess's lack of comfort, or the way she felt required to be perfect at everything. Well, everything except her studies. And she hadn't liked the way all the guys had suddenly stopped fearing her to hang around Evie, no matter how uncomfortable the bluenette had been with the attention.

_But that has all changed,_ she reminded herself. _We put the past behind us long ago. We aren't those same kids. We're smarter than those kids ever would have been._

"Hey, Mal," Jay said, coming up behind her and slinging an arm around her shoulders. She lifted an eyebrow at the coy grin on his face. "Remember this? The Howler we put on for Evie's welcoming? Was quite the bash, wasn't it?"

"Actually, I think I'd rather forget that," Mal admitted, brushing Jay off as Uma raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Yeah, me too," Carlos admitted. "Although, that_ is_ kind of how Evie and I became friends."

"By being locket in a fur closet?" Uma inquired disbelievingly.

"No," the white-haired boy frowned at her. "I showed Evie the backway out. I sort of...told her about my life, and she offered to help me. And that's when I showed her my machine."

"The one that punched through the dome?" Uma guessed. "The one you mentioned before."

"Right. But it was only for a second, and all it really did was let in a few more channels for the TV, so, not exceptionally helpful." He shrugged apologetically. "And I think I preferred Ben's plan _much_ more."

"So did I," Jay admitted.

"Okay, but we didn't know that at the time," Mal defended. "All we knew was how to be evil, and that the only way off of the Isle was to escape by force and by helping our parents."

"And we all know how well that plan worked out," Uma snorted.

"Yeah. Better than yours, Uma." Mal smiled sweetly.

"At least we learned from our mistakes," Carlos cut back in before a spat could break out between the females. "We realized that we needed each other if we wanted to stand a chance. The four of us."

"Now it's the eleven of us," Jay said with a grin.

"You, me, Carlos, Ben, Evie, Uma, Harry, Gil, Doug, Lonnie, and Jane," Mal recited easily. "The Heaven Eleven."

Jay looked at her. "Did you just make that up now?"

"I did," she replied. "You like?"

"I do," he said, grinning back at her.

"Um...lads and lassies," Harry cut in, waving his hook to get their attentions. "I think I found somethin'." He pointed to the last door in the wall and the sign overhead labeled LIBRARY. "Somethin' called a...'library'."

"It's where we breed the baby crocs," Jay said, managing to keep a straight face as he passed.

"Say _what?"_

"Ignore him," Uma sighed, rolling her eyes as she passed. "A library is a place for books, Hook. No relation to Tick Tock whatsoever."

"Oh."

They piled into the small room. Mal coughed, waving away dirt and access debris from a portion of the ceiling that had collapsed, and scanned the multiple rows of books and racks. "I think we should spread out," she decided. "There are a lot of books to cover, and not a lot of time. Uma, Jay, and Harry, start searching the left half of the room. Carlos, you and I will go right. We're looking for a tattered red textbook with gold lettering."

"Right."

"On it."

The groups immediately split up. 

"Where should we start?" Mal whispered to Carlos as they reached their section of the room and she stretched up to begin searching the top row.

"Well, that depends," Carlos replied, dragging a small stool over and hopping up to scan the very top. "What kind of book is it? A cook book? A history book? Oh, a science book. Now_ that_ might be interesting."

"It's a spell book," Mal answered flatly. "You know, where they keep _spells_?"

"Right, right. Okay. Spell books. Spell books." Carlos jumped back down and moved further away, reading the large labels and mumbling jibberish to himself.

"Oh, for...We don't have time for this." Already impatient, Mal yanked out her own book and skimmed the pages until she found what she was looking for. "_To get our friend off of the hook, summon now the spell of this book."_

"Hey, guys!" Jay called from somewhere across the room. "I think I found--YAARGH!" Whatever he was saying was cut off as a book suddenly shot over his head and landed with a thump before Mal. It was big. It was red. And the spells were written in golden letters.

"Bingo," Mal whispered, picking it up and scanning through the pages until she found what she was looking for. "I've got it!" As the others gathered around, she began to read. "'The time of wizards has long passed. A new age is rising. A new world will come to pass, a world where heroes and villains will live peacefully, side by side.'"

"That sounds like now," Carlos pointed out, leaning over her shoulder to read with her. "'But this peace will not hold. A new evil will rise to destroy the land. And the curse of twins shall be it's guide.'"

"The curse of twins?" Uma repeated with a frown. "What is that?"

"I don't know," Mal answered, flipping through the pages in search for more information. "I've never heard of it."

"Well, fortunately for you," came a voice from behind them. "I _have_."

***

"What do we do?" Evie asked anxiously as the three of them stood at the window, watching the storm and fire overtake Auradon. On either side of her, Ben and Gil stood stock still, almost petrified by the pace of the spreading.

"I don't...I don't know," Ben mumbled, leaning forward and glancing at his beast ring. It was glowing a strange orange. "But we'd better do something," he added. "Auradon Prep is in trouble." He took off the ring and set it on the ledge, overlooking the city.

"How do you know?" Gil asked.

"This ring was a gift from Doug's uncles," Ben explained. "It has this unique ability. It glows whenever a villain is near the kingdom."

"It's glowing right now," the blond pointed out.

"Yeah," Evie sighed. "That's because Morgana's siege has already begun." She turned away from the window and hurried back over to Doug who was still asleep, though no longer unconscious. He'd woken up for a brief moment in a cold sweat, screaming something about "another" and a "daughter". Most of his words were jumbled and incoherent, and nothing he said made any sense. Evie had sat with him, holding his hand until he sunk back into a fitful sleep.

"We should go," Ben said, following her. "As soon as Mal and the others get back."

"We'll need a plan," Evie decided. "A well thought-out way to sneak back into the city without Morgana or her creepy henchman noticing us."

"What about the docks?" Gil suggested, eating another handful of chips. "Now that the barrier is down, why don't we just sail right in on Uma's ship?"

"Good idea, but I think Morgana is smarter than that," Ben said. "She'll be watching for us, Doug especially."

"And if she has taken Auradon, there's no safe way to call for help," Evie added. "Meaning--"

"Meaning we're on our own," Ben finished. "And we have to figure out a way to defeat her before she comes back to finish the job."

"But how?" Evie muttered. "How do we get past her magic?"

"With more magic?" Gill suggested.

"No," Evie said quickly, sharing a glance with Ben. "We learned very early on that magic was not the solution to our problems. As Morgana has showed us, it can often make things worse. And besides, I don't want to put Doug through that kind of pressure again."

"He says thank you."

The weak groan behind her caused all three to turn abruptly as Doug's eyes flickered open and he slowly sat up with a grimace, his blind gaze flicking in the direction of Evie's voice. The bluenette, in turn, gasped, and rushed to his side, embracing him in a tight squeeze.

"Oh, my badness! Thank goodness you're awake!" Evie sobbed into his shoulder. "I was so worried when we found you, and you weren't responding. I was afraid you were _dead_, and...I'm just so glad you're all right!"

"Good to..._ow_...see you too, E," he grunted as Evie pulled back to wipe her tears away. His expression grew grim. "I thought you'd left," he added in a quieter tone.

Evie shook her head. "No, Doug," she said. "We'd _never_ leave you. Morgana spelled us. Right after we found out that she was...you know? And by the time we found our way back to the Isle, you'd already gone. We searched the entire Isle for you."

"And what...what did my...my mother do?" Doug frowned, finding his glasses beside him and slipping them on. He saw the looks on the others faces and pulled himself up straighter. "Really, you guys. Tell me. What did she do?"

"Doug," Ben said cautiously. "What do you remember before you passed out?"

Doug blinked, confused, and looked thoughtful. "Not much," he admitted. "I saw Morgana. I tried to stop her. She...hit me with somekind of spell. Is that it? Do you think I'm under some kind of curse? Is that why you won't tell me anything?"

The others shared a glance.

"We don't...actually know," Ben admitted. "Mal and the others have gone to Dragon Hall to try and find something to help. They should be back soon with a plan, and--"

"Dragon Hall?" Doug repeated, looking alarmed. "Did you say 'Dragon Hall'?"

"Yeah?" Ben frowned. "What about it?"

"Oh, no," Doug groaned. "No, no, no, no, no." He tried to get up, and Evie hurried to his side, holding him back.

"Doug, wait!" she pleaded. "What is it? What's wrong?' She slowly helped him back into the hammock and he looked at her through watery eyes.

"She...she knows," Doug whispered. "M-Morgana knows. She...she expected me to go there. So...so, she sent a precaution to stop me."

"What?" Ben knelt down next to Evie. "D, what do you mean?"

"_Ben_," Doug's eyes were wide and he gripped Evie's hand tighter. "She _knew_ I'd be going there. She sent her to kill me. Mal and the others are in danger."

"_Who_?" Evie demanded. "Who did Morgana send?"

"My sister." 


	21. Culmination

"Whoa! Easy there!" Ben exclaimed, reaching out to help as Doug promptly attempted to stand up. Evie was there in an instant, grabbing his free arm and helping him to his feet. The dwarf swayed, and he grabbed their arms tightly. His face was red and sweat was visible as his glasses slid down his nose.

"I need...I need to...go...help them," Doug gasped.

"Whoa, are you okay, man?" Gil asked, coming over anxiously to look him up and down. "You seem kinda sick."

"I...I don't know..."

"Of _course_ he's not okay!" Evie snapped, glaring at the pirate. "He was hit with a spell! Magic takes time to wear off. And in the meantime, the victim really_ should not be trying to stand up and go running back into danger like a snail-brain, Doug."_

"There's...no time," Doug retorted. "I'm...sorry...Evie...but, they need...my help."

"_Ben_!" Evie cried, shooting the king pleading looks. "Make him stay here!"

"I...yes," Ben huffed. "Doug, I am _ordering _you to sit down and let us think this through!"

"_No_!" Doug struggled weakly, managing to tear away from Evie and knock her backward onto the ground. "I need...I need...to go!"

"DOUG!" Ben yelled as the teen stumbled away from him, clutching his head furiously as though he was fighting himself. Sparks of light shot from his fingers, smashing into things around the room. With a scream, Evie threw herself back onto the floor and covered her head protectively. Ben and Gil each ducked a powerful blast of silver light. The magic exploded through the window, shattering it, and vanished into the nighttime sky.

"DOUG! STOP!" Evie yelled, her voice muffled by the explosions and her hair.

"What's _happening?_" Gil screamed as he took cover behind a bookcase.

"He's lost it!" Ben yelled back. "The magic...it's too strong!"

"Doug, fight it!" Evie yelled, looking up, finding the orb of silver magic encompassing Doug, who was down on one knee, struggling with everything he had. She could see the tears pouring down his face, equal to her own. "DOUG!"

He either couldn't hear her, or didn't.

_I have to stop this! He's hurting himself, and if he keeps this up, someone else is going to be injured as well! _Evie felt the heat flooding her blood. She hadn't used her magic since their first fight with Queenie and Morgana. And it drained her so mentally and physically that she could only use it once or twice without blacking out. But now seemed like a good time to try. She needed to calm Doug down.

_Just another reason we're such a good match_, she thought dryly.

Cautiously, she rose to her feet, feeling her powers swarm into her hands. Another bolt of magic rushed past her head and exploded into the wall, but she didn't flinch. "Doug," she said more calmly, taking a step toward him. And then another. "Doug, can you hear me? It's going to be okay. We can help the others, but first you need to calm down, okay? Just_ calm down_. Breathe."

The light flickered. He swung around to face her, pain written on every feature and fear in his green eyes. "E...evie?" His voice sounded weak, strained, and she wondered how much longer he could take this excess of power.

"I'm here," she said softly, holding out her hands to the sonic forcefield. "I've got you. Just trust me, okay? Everything's going to be_ fine_."

"Evie, be careful," Ben begged, his eyes wide with worry.

"It's okay," she said without looking over her shoulder. "I've got this. You two go on ahead and warn Mal and the others. We'll be right behind you."

Ben and Gil looked at one another, and then to Doug, who's gaze was focused solely on Evie. The blunette grit her teeth, continuing to inch toward the dwarf. "Doug, listen to me," she said as Ben nudged Gil and jerked his head toward the door. "Everything's going to be okay. _We're _going to be okay. But you're going to have to trust me now. _Please._ Snap out of this and let's go stop your sister together."

Doug whimpered, still fighting. Evie cautiously reached for his hands, taking them in hers. He was shaking, but he didn't pull away, and he didn't blast her, so she took those both as pluses.

"Doug," she whispered. "I trust you. I _love_ you. I believe we can stop Morgana, but we need _you_." The light in her hands increased and she blinked away the weariness that came with it. "And if you can hear me, we need you _now."_

He looked at her once more, and as she stared into his eyes, the fear faded away, replaced with exhaustion and sorrow. "E...evie?"

She smiled. "Yeah, it's me."

He groaned, bringing a hand to his head and looking around at all of the destruction. "Did I...do that?"

"It was an accident," Evie said firmly. "Right now, we need to go after the others. Do you think you can stand?"

Doug hesitated, but then nodded more confidently. "Yes. I think I can."

"All right," Evie said, backing away to fish something out of her pocket. A shimmer was visible, and she could feel Doug watching as she removed the Dragon Stone.   
"I think it's about time you learned how to use this."

"Wait...but I thought Mal had--"

"A fake," Evie replied. "Just in case Morgana got too powerful. This is the real one. This whole time, she's been targeting us, trying to break apart our friendships." She held the stone up to the light "Now I think it's time to take the fight to _her_."

* * *

  
Evie took a deep breath, letting the wind beat relaxingly against her face. It was so _amazing _to fly. She felt so powerful, so..._free_. It was the best feeling she'd ever had.

"E...evie...can you...slow down..._please?"_

Except for when she had a moaning, groaning, _one-hundred percent _untrained boyfriend taking every bit of patience she had to keep him from tipping off of her back.

"There's _no time_ to slow down!" she called back. "We don't know what's going on at the school. Your sister could be there _right now _for all we know!"

Doug grunted as they zigzagged through the air. Evie couldn't see his face, but she could imagine the look he was giving her as she narrowly passed between two towers and her tail smacked into a brick structure behind her.

Below, the last of the citizens of the Isle were fleeing to the bridge toward Auradon. Evie feared it would not be much safer over there than here, especially if they couldn't stop Morgana and whatever she was planning.

"Hang on!" she yelled, though she knew Doug couldn't understand her, and then she curled her wings and plummeted toward the streets.

Doug's screams hit such a high octave Evie could have sworn a nearby window shattered.

They raced past Devil's Alley and circled back around toward Hell Hall. Dragon Hall was near the edge of town, and easy to spot. The largest and ugliest building in the entire city. Evie shuddered, recalling how awful it had been to attend classes there, and even worse, how much she had enjoyed it, how she'd even been_ proud_ of it.

She flew around to a nearby square and cautiously landed in the grass, letting a petrified Doug slide from her shoulders, and then, with a growl and flash of light, she transformed back into her battle uniform.

"Now what?" Doug hissed, hurrying over to her as she began to dig through her bag. "Are the others in there?" He nodded nervously to the school. "Do _we_ have to go in there?"

"Yes, and yes," Evie answered, stuffing the Dragonstone out of sight and removing something in it's place. A map. But not just any map. One of the Cave of Woe, one of Aladdin's. She unfolded and began searching for the secret entrance into the school. Then, noticing Doug's silence, glanced up to see his terrified expression. "Oh, come on, Doug. It won't be_ that_ bad, I promise."

"I've heard_ that_ before," the dwarf sighed. But he still came to read the map over her shoulder. "So that's our way in?" he guessed, pointing to a hidden stairwell in the back of the structure.

Evie nodded. "It's been sealed off for years," she explained. "But we should be able to blast our way through if we try hard enough."

"Yeah..." Doug's eyes scanned the page, almost as if he were looking for something in particular. "What about this?" he suggested, pointing to a back room that jutted off of the library. "If we went this way, we might not trip any traps my sister set for us."

"Yeah, that might just work," Evie nodded. "And then we could double-back from there and maybe we can see what we're up against before we engage. Speaking of which," She folded the map back up and put it into her pocket. "Your sister. What do you know about her?"

Doug hesitated. "Not very much," he admitted. "Just that she exists. And she's the opposite of me. What some would call my evil twin. But I don't know her name, or_ how_ she is my sister, or anything about her. Apparently Merlin forced Morgana to separate us. I was sent to be raised by Dad, and Morgana held on to my sister, corrupting her and turning her as dark and as twisted as she was."

"I'm sorry," Evie said, and she meant it. She couldn't imagine what it must have been like for him, to discover he had a sister, only to find out that she was evil and wicked and probably wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. And the distant look in his eyes, it broke her heart to see him like that. He didn't deserve this. None of it. She wished there was a way she could help him, but at the moment, the most she could do was try to help him get to the others and hope they could avoid Morgana and her daughter.

He gave her a weak smile. "Don't worry about it," he said. "I'll deal with my nuts family later. Let's just focus on--"

Whatever he was saying was cut off as a ball of electricity suddenly exploded behind them. With a yell, he reacted instantly, hooking Evie around the waste and yanking her away, simultaneously throwing up his arm and shielding them both from the blast. The ball of lightning reflected off of his barrier and smashed against the earth, shattering to a million tiny pieces.

Evie shuddered as she felt Doug shift his body between her and the magic. More balls of lighting erupted from the shadows and Doug grunted as each struck his magical barrier. With each strike, his entire form shuddered. Even without looking up, Evie knew he would not be able to hold on much longer. She summoned the fire to her hands, ready to attack the moment Doug's shield fell.

Suddenly, the attacks stopped and someone began clapping slowly.

"Well, well, _well_," came a familiar drawling voice that caused Doug to freeze and Evie to grind her teeth. "I _told_ Morgana you were clever, but a _fake Dragonstone? _I must say, I _am_ impressed."

"Horvath," Doug growled, raising his head slowly, keeping up the flickering barrier.

"Oh, tut, tut," the warlock took off the end of his cane and began polishing it. "Is that anyway to speak to someone who has come to warn you?"

"Warn us?" Evie snapped. "More like _kill_ us!" The magic continued pulsing warning through her hands as she glared.

"_Incorrect, _my dear girl. You see, I have come to make you an offer you _simply cannot _refuse. The Dragonstone, for passage to Auradon and," He looked at Doug, "your sister at your feet."

Doug took a shuddering breath and his hand slid across the concrete to find Evie's. "Don't do it," he warned her. "You know this is a trap."

Yes, she did. It _had_ to be. "No," she said firmly. "No deal. You are just trying to trick us, right? Well, good effort, but it isn't going to work!"

Horvath raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?" Then, faster than the eye could follow, he raised his staff and shot a blast of lightning at Doug. It was more powerful than his shield and the boy crumpled, hissing in pain.

"Now," Horvath sneered, his eyes dark and merciless, "let's try this again. Give me the Dragonstone, or your boyfriend _dies._"


	22. When Everything Crumbles

"_Well_?" Horvath demanded, once more polishing the end of his staff. "What's it going to be?"

Evie hesitated. Behind her, Doug groaned, clutching his stomach in pain, making no move to rise. Horvath waited and Evie felt her hold on the Dragonstone tighten. Doug gasped as he tried to sit up and he gave her a small, almost unrecognizable nod. She knew what that meant.

_Go._

She twisted back toward the warlock. "You want the Dragonstone?" she taunted. "Well, _come __and__ get it!" _And then, in an instant, she'd transformed and launched from the ground, striding high on humongous wings.

A wicked smirk flashed across Horvath's face and he chuckled as he pulled his cloak around him and disappeared into a cloud of smoke. A furious roar split the heavens and a black dragon nearly twice the size of Evie burst forward.

The bluenette saw Doug pitch backward and throw an arm across his face as Horvath transformed, and that only propelled her further up. She had to get as far away as possible and lead the warlock off of the dwarf's trail. Doug needed to confront his sister, which meant he couldn't be distracted by anything or anyone.

"_Get back here, girl_!" Horvath screamed, pumping his wings harder and gnashing his teeth furiously. 

Evie flew harder, adrenaline coursing through her veins. Clouds burst in her face and around her wings, but she kept flying. Higher and higher until the Isle was nothing except a speck of dark against a perfect blue ocean. The Dragonstone crackled with small bolts of electricity, zipping past her scales and sending Horvath swerving to dodge. 

He bellowed in fury, opening his jaws wide, fire forming in the back of his throat.

Evie saw this and spun out of the way just in time. The flames whistled past her head and exploded into the atmosphere. She twisted back to face the warlock and was met by a powerful set of talons. The force of the impact sent her reeling backward, head over tail, and she yelped, struggling to spread her wings and right herself. A long dark tail came flying from the darkness. She hissed, narrowly dodging and pulling back to circle the bigger creature.

"Resistance is futile, _witch_," Horvath snarled, his eyes gleaming a bloodshot red. "You can't keep the Dragonstone from me any more than you can protect your _precious _NeoMerlin."

Heart leaping to her chest, Evie dared a glance down, and that was when Horvath made his move. He hissed, sounding exceptionally snake-like, and let loose a spray of lightning.

Crying in alarm, Evie threw up her wings to try and shield her face, but it was no use. The electricity crashed into her, coursing through her veins. She bit her tongue, trying not to scream, not wanting Doug to hear her and turn back. She growled, clutching the stone tighter and glaring definitely at the warlock.

"I see you are a resilient one," Horvath snarled. "_Too bad _you're fighting for the wrong side."

"I'm sorry, _who's _trying to destroy Auradon?" Evie spat, fury welling up inside her. How _dare _he accuse her of helping the wrong people? She was _saving _everyone, and most importantly, she was helping _Doug,_ the _bravest _and _kindest _of them all. There was _no way_ she would lose to _anyone _who wanted to destroy Auradon! "You can't sway me so easily, Horvath. I know who and _what _you are. You want to destroy everything that is _good_ and _right_, and you want me to stand aside and let you. But that's _not_ going to happen." She pulled her wings back, summoning strength from inside her that she did not know she possessed. "You can't have the Dragonstone, and I will make sure you don't_ ever_ hurt Doug again."

Horvath's dark eyes gleamed. "You can't protect _him_ or _anyone else_. The boy is the destroyer of heroes. It was _preordained."_

"Yeah?" Evie spat. "Well, preordain _this!"_

She snapped open her jaws and a wave of boiling water came spewing out. Horvath bellowed in pain as it encompassed him, and Evie ducked as he lashed blindly for her. She drew back, feeling the power pulsing through the stone, in sync with her drumming heart.

Horvath hissed, shaking his head, fury glazing his eyes. Burns covered his body, bulging and red, and a demonic glow had begun to encompass his wings. Evie's eyes widened as she turned to flee the oncoming blast of power, but she was too slow. The magic exploded from Horvath's throat and slammed into her at full force. She braced herself, but the sonic wave sent her tumbling head over tail. Below her, the earth gave a might rumble and more rifts appeared in the soil. 

Shaking off blisters of razor-sharp pain, Evie struggled to right herself, her large wings greatly overcompensating her tumble. Her grasp on the Dragonstone weakened and she shook her head, desperately fighting to clear the bursts of golden lights.

Horvath lunged once more, his cold talons wrapping around Evie's and fighting to pry the stone from her grasp. She fought back viciously, whacking him with her tail. Unperturbed, he continued yanking, and in a burst of inhuman strength, he ripped it from her hands.

"NO!" she screamed.

_"Yes_," Horvath hissed, holding the stone far from her reach. "You fought honorably, dear girl, but you should have known that you were _no match _for me! And now..." he lowered the stone threateningly. "It is time to say _goodbye_." 

There was a flash of red light and Evie screamed, her wings crumpling. She freefell toward the earth, and then everything went black...

* * *

The halls were eerie in the fading light. Golden streaks pulsed through crumbling walls, pooling into the deserted halls where one dwarf was hiding, sword half-drawn from his scabbard, struggling to grasp the last strands of bravery, even as they slipped away like liquid. His friends were somewhere inside, and they were in danger. If he was right and his sister was somewhere...well, there was no telling how much trouble Mal and the others were in.

Outside, he could hear the fight between the dragons unfold, howls and screams seeping through the thin cement. However, inside the school was still. The only sounds were his own cautious footsteps and pounding heart. He gripped his blade tightly. There was no telling where Morgana and his sister would pop up next, and he wanted to be ready for anything. 

He crept through the cafeteria, which reeked with the odor of spoiled fish and spoiled milk, glancing around nervously. Something was wrong here. Very wrong. And whatever it was, he feared it knew he was there. 

"Mal?" he hissed into the darkness, hearing his voice wavering. "Carlos? Jay? Hello? _Anybody_?"

He rounded a bend and started down the hall. A sign overhead read LIBRARY in crimson letters. Doug prayed it wasn't blood, but knowing how the Isle had been once, he wouldn't have been terribly surprised. 

_This is where Evie said the others were going_, he recalled. But it was too quiet. Even for a library. Something was off about this entire thing. He slowed, quieting his footsteps and tried to steady his breaths. He needed to be brave, he reminded himself. Because that was what a_ real_ hero did. Even when they were scared, they would always do what needed to be done. That's what the VKs had done against their parents, and now he would be forced to do the same. He only hoped he was ready.

"Uma?" he whispered again. "Harry? You guys in here?"

He reached the door and gently pushed it open. "Guys?"

There was no response. Frowning, he quickly pushed the door open the rest of the way and gasped at what he found. His friends were all lying on the ground before him, apparently knocked out by something...or some_one_.

"I think you should be more careful who you whisper to," came an unfamiliar voice behind him. "The darkness hides many secrets. You never know _who_ might answer."

Ice-cold dread flooded through the teen. The grip on his sword grew tighter as he prepared to draw it. The figure behind him reacted quicker, and the next thing Doug knew, something fast and hot slammed into his back and he was sent flying across the room to crash into a wall. His body hit the floor and pain exploded through him. He cried out, scrambling back to his feet, sword drawn to face this new attacker.

Bright green eyes peered at him from behind thick blond locks. There was a glint of warning in them, along with something else. Something he'd not seen in years. _Hatred_. Pure and simple. There was no doubt in his mind who this was, but he could still hardly believe his eyes.

"You're..." he began, feeling the words die in his throat. "You're..."

"I'm _what_?" the girl sneered. "A better version of you? You got _that _right." She waved her hands and orange magic exploded around her. She thrust it forward. Doug dropped to the ground and rolled away, the attack narrowly missing him. He sprang back up, holding out his hands pleadingly as he stepped in front of his friends like a human shield. 

"Don't do this," he begged. "Whatever Morgana has told you is a _lie_! You don't have to be evil! _Please_!"

The girl sneered. "And my alternative is to be like _you_? Pathetic! That's what you are! My _pathetic_ little brother. The weakling of the family with too much good in him. Too _soft_. That's what our mother taught me. And you know what _else_ she taught me?" She threw out her hand and a sword of blazing fire appeared at her fingers. "That you're no match for_ me_."

She charged at him, swinging her elemental sword at his head, intending to take him down in one move. Reacting on instinct, Doug threw up his blade to counter. The sounding cling of metal on metal echoed throughout the building. The girl hissed, apparently surprised by his quick reaction, and pushed harder, struggling to thrust his blade back toward his chest. 

Doug saw an opening, and recalling what Lonnie had taught him, he suddenly dropped all defenses and lashed out with a kick to his sister's leg. The girl yelped as her knee gave out and stumbled. Doug took the momentary distraction to duck away and back into an open area, raising his blade defensively.

"_Not bad,_" the blond hissed, spinning to face him, death in her glare. "It seems I may have underestimated you."

"You underestimated a lot of things," Doug retorted. "Your first was thinking I'd be naive enough to come alone. But your biggest mistake? Thinking you could defeat the NeoMerlin." He stood up straighter, proud of himself and his title for the first time.

"_Ha_!" the girl laughed, flashing him a grin of unexplainable victory. "You think it's _that _easy? Well, let me tellyou _your _biggest mistake, _dwarf._ Whatever the old man told you was a _lie._ _You're _not the NeoMerlin. _I am_." 


End file.
